14 earthquakes hit Tennessee and Missouri in the New Madrid Seismic Zone in 24 hours – Is the Big One near?

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Since 24 hours, a swarm of 14 earthquakes is sweeping across Tennessee, Missouri and Arkansas, right in the New Madrid Seismic Zone.

Is this series of quakes a sign for the upcoming megaquake along New Madrid Seismic Zone?

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The San Andreas and the Cascadia faults are well known for their potential to cause a megaquakes.

But the New Madrid Seismic Zone, a 150 miles long fault line crossing five states – Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee is also long overdue. It is southwest of the Wabash Valley Seismic Zone.

The seismic zone is currently experiencing a series of 14 earthquakes. The swarm started on June 24, 2016 and is continuing presently.

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June 24, 2016:
M1.4 – 4km NE of Ridgely, Tennessee
M1.7 – 5km NE of Ridgely, Tennessee
M1.4 – 5km NE of Ridgely, Tennessee
M1.1 – 4km NE of Ridgely, Tennessee
M1.8 – 4km NE of Ridgely, Tennessee
M2.3 – 16km ESE of Crystal City, Missouri

June 25, 2016:
M2.3 – 10km SE of Haskell, Arkansas
M1.5 – 5km NE of Ridgely, Tennessee
M1.9 – 4km ENE of Ridgely, Tennessee
M2.0 – 4km NE of Ridgely, Tennessee
M1.8 – 5km NE of Ridgely, Tennessee
M1.2 – 7km NE of Ridgely, Tennessee
M2.3 – 5km W of Tiptonville, Tennessee
M2.5 – 5km NNW of Marion, Arkansas

As shown, the quakes are centered around Ridgely, Tennessee, but reach Arkansas and Missouri. These quakes were preceded by 2 tremors on June 23, 2016 and 4 on June 21, 2016, mostly around Ridgely, Tennessee again.

Is it a sign of the next ‘Big One’ along the New Madrid fault? It could indeed awake at any time:


Here a map of the major fault lines in the US.

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4 Comments

  1. The small quakes could be a good slow stress relief, or a prelude to a major quake. Can geologists tell the difference ? With three major faults plus Yellowstone, can a major event in one trigger a second or third event ?

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