Earthquake Reported Directly Beneath Missouri Airport

The New Madrid Seismic Zone has just finished one of the more interesting weeks in recent memory with an earthquake that has been reported in that region almost directly beneath a Missouri airport.

If you recall, there was a huge swarm of 8 New Madrid Fault quakes at the start of the week from late Sunday into early Monday. The following day there were two quakes directly under the Mississippi River. You can now add an earthquake strong enough to be felt that was recorded directly under the airport in Caruthersville, Missouri early Friday morning.

This was no big quake, but a 2.3 magnitude quake isn't exactly tiny either. The only reason there were no felt reports to the USGS was the fact that it occurred at 1:47am in the morning local time Friday near Caruthersville. I also didn't mention that there were 2 earthquakes right in the middle of Arkansas yesterday that were odd activity for the New Madrid Fault.

Does this mean a major New Madrid quake is imminent?

NO. I add emphasis to that because it's the natural question anytime there are unusual New Madrid Fault tremors. I've heard many mention that these small quakes are good because they are a release of pressure and they're not necessarily wrong. Even the experts will tell you that minor quakes can be a good thing for a dangerous fault. But, it's important to note that a swarm of quakes can also be foreshocks leading up to a major event.

I sound like a broken record saying this over and over again, but what happened this week along the New Madrid Fault is a great reminder to have an emergency plan if you live near this very seismically-active area of Missouri. A real major quake will likely give you no warning before it potentially damages bridges, closes travel routes and makes utilities unavailable for days, weeks or even months. Know what you and your family would do if a major New Madrid Fault quake were to occur and then you can rest easy knowing you have a plan if/when the big one were ever to strike.