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05.05.2008 8:16 am

Earthquake (magnitude 2.7) Near Fenton Shakes St. Louis this Morning

A magnitude 2.7 earthquake centered about 3 miles SSE of Fenton MO shook parts of St Louis early this morning.  The quake had a depth of abuot 12 miles, and rattled the area 6:24 AM.  

 This quake was not directly related to the recent April 18 magnitude 5.4 earthquake in the Wabash Valley, nor to the New Madrid Seismic Zone. It is associated with a series of smaller NW trending faults including the Eureka-House Springs structure, that have historically had small earthquakes along them.  The last earthquakes felt in St Louis from this zone were in 1998 and in 1978.

 See the USGS or St. Louis University Earthquake Center for updated information.  The quake shook areas recently saturated by flood waters, so the potential for liquefaction of loose and sandy soils needs to be considered.

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2 comments

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Tim,

Is there any connection, scientifically, between this morning’s quake and the Illinois quake of a couple weeks ago? These are the only two quakes I have personally felt, in my whole life! Should we expect more? What do you think the chances are of a big one coming our way, soon?

— Star20
4:25 pm May 5th, 2008

There is no reason to think that the two quakes are connected, or that their close proximity in time means that we are due for any “big one”. Both quakes occurred on faults with regular patterns of seismicity, and fall within those patterns. The fault that was active this morning is part of a system that has had similar earthquakes in 1998 and 1978, both about the same magnitude. So, although it may seem weird, their is probably no connection between these events!

See the story in the PD– http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/B8A2643E199FFE0B8625744000415CE7?OpenDocument

— Tim Kusky
5:17 pm May 5th, 2008