Can a Missouri Flood Lead to a Major Earthquake?

Recent heavy rainfall in Missouri has led to a question. Can flooding cause a major earthquake? The answer is very surprising.

This question was just asked recently on the Missouri sub-Reddit. Someone mentioned that a major New Madrid Fault earthquake was their worst fear and they were concerned about all the rain in Missouri so far this year.

Could massive flooding around the New Madrid cause the big one?
byu/widespreadbranic inEarthquakes

Can a major flood cause a massive Missouri earthquake?

I will admit that before researching the possibility, my guess would have been no. It appears that's not correct. IFL Science says there is evidence that heavy rain events can trigger earthquakes? Wait. What?! They point to an earthquake in France that coincided with regional flooding.

Fracking is "a method used to extract oil and natural gas from deep underground rock formations" according to Wikipedia. There are also many that believe fracking in Oklahoma is responsible for the uptick in earthquakes there although the USGS denies it. I will admit that I'm skeptical of the denial of the effects of fracking on seismic activity as they seem to coincide and there are many in the oil industry that have a big interest in that connection not being made.

If you are the scientific type, you can do a deep dive and read the full paper that was published on MDPI.