USGS Upgrades Lake Wappapello Quake — Many in Missouri Felt It

I am now officially intrigued. There's been a mini-swarm of earthquakes along the New Madrid Fault in southern Missouri and those tremors include a 2nd quake near Lake Wappapello and residents felt it this time.

UPDATE and CORRECTION: According to the USGS, the quake near Lake Wappapello was recategorized as a 2.6 magnitude tremor upgraded from the previous 2.4. The 9 new felt reports are new, though.

ORIGINAL STORY:

Look at this sudden mini-swarm of New Madrid quakes this weekend

I mentioned the odd quake registering 2.4 magnitude that struck Saturday morning near Lake Wappapello in Missouri. Now, the USGS has confirmed another Saturday shaker in almost the exact same spot. The 2nd quake was slightly larger than the first measuring 2.6 on the Richter Scale. Notice that there are 9 official resident reports that say they felt the second quake.

Unless I'm misunderstanding and this is a recategorization of the first Saturday quake near Lake Wappapello, this is highly unusual to see the New Madrid Fault have a quake in this area on back to back days. Even though the trio of weekend quakes including the Missouri boot heel and northern Arkansas are interesting and bears watching, it does not mean there is necessarily a major New Madrid Fault event imminent. Seismologists will tell you that you can't know if a quake is a foreshock until after a major quake happens. Did you know that some scientists believe that the New Madrid Fault still experiences aftershocks from the historic 1811-1812 quakes? I haven't seen the USGS embrace that theory, but it's an interesting possibility.

This weekend's activity is another reason why it's a good idea to keep an eye on New Madrid Fault activity. You shouldn't lose any sleep over minor quakes like we've seen this weekend, but you also should be quake-aware and have an emergency plan when/if the big one ever hits.