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Geologic Hazards in Missouri

Earthquakes  |  Sinkholes and Landslides

Great Central U.S. ShakeOut! | Earthquake Science | SEMA Preparedness | FEMA Preparedness | FEMA Mitigation
Recent Earthquakes | Earthquake Awareness Month Activities | Preparedness Videos Created by Students

Nearly 900 people in 21 states reported shaking in Magnitude 3.9 earthquake recorded Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012 near Sikeston, Missouri
Following the February 21, 2012 magnitude 4.0 earthquake near Sikeston, Missouri, nearly 900 people in 21 states reported shaking to the U.S. Geological Survey’s “Did you feel it?” website.  The earthquake was originally reported by USGS to have been magnitude 4.0, but was later downgraded to M3.9.  Three subsequent quakes occurred in the following order; a magnitude 1.8 at 6:18 AM, a magnitude 2.4 at 1:05 PM and a magnitude 2.0 at 12:38 PM.  An earthquake with a magnitude 2.0 is about the level at which one can typically be felt. Over the past five years Missouri has experienced more than 24 earthquakes of that magnitude or greater.  This year marks the 200th Anniversary of the New Madrid Earthquakes, when a series of three to five major earthquakes (magnitude 7.0 or larger earthquakes) occurred in near the southeast Missouri town of New Madrid in the two month period between December 16, 1811 and February 7, 1812.  

Earthquake Frequency in the New Madrid Seismic Zone
Four earthquakes measuring magnitude 4.5 or greater occurred in the zone since 1974 (as of February 21, 2012).

NMSZ Earthquakes 1974 to Feb. 21, 2012 -- M 4.5 and Greater Trumann, Arkansas
Date: 1976/03/25 Origin Time of Earthquake (UTC): 00:41:20.5000  Latitude: 35.59000  Longitude: -90.48000  Depth (km): 15.0000  Magnitude: 5.0  Google location: Map  

Trumann, Arkansas
Date: 1976/03/25 Origin Time of Earthquake (UTC):  01:00:11.9000  Latitude:  35.61000  Longitude: -90.48000  Depth (km): 15.0000  Magnitude: 4.5  Google location: Map

Chaffee, Missouri
Date: 1990/09/26 Origin Time of Earthquake (UTC): 13:18:51.7100  Latitude: 37.15200  Longitude: -89.61300   Depth (km): 1.0000  Magnitude: 4.8  Google location: Map  

Risco, Missouri
Date: 1991/05/04 Origin Time of Earthquake (UTC): 01:18:54.6000 Latitude: 36.57500 Longitude: -89.82500  Depth (km): 11.2000  Magnitude: 4.5   Google location: Map

Data collected from the New Madrid Earthquake Catalog maintained by the Center for Earthquake Research and Information. Search the catalog for other occurrences, create a map and learn more about occurrences in the New Madrid Seismic Zone.

 

Participate in the Great Central U.S. ShakeOut Feb. 7, 2012 2012 Great Central U.S. ShakeOut a Success!
Thank you for participating Feb. 7 in the 2012 Great Central U.S. ShakeOut!  more than 2.4 million people across nine states participated by practicing DROPING to the ground, taking COVER by getting under a sturdy desk or table, and HOLDING ON until the exercise ended.  Learn more about earthquake potential in Missouri. Visit the ShakeOut website for more information about preparedness.

Missourians observe Earthquake Awareness Month
Each February, geologists with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources partnered with local, state and federal agencies and organizations by participating in a number of public activities by providing scientific data about the New Madrid Seismic Zone, mapping for risk assessment, and geologic information about the basics of earthquakes. We hope you attended public events intended to raise awareness about earthquake hazard in Missouri.

 

Show-Me ShakeOut Video Contest Winners
Students from Ballwin, Dent County and Rolla were named winners in the statewide earthquake preparedness video contest sponsored by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources

Watch videos!

EarthScope Seismographs in Missouri -- The USArray Transportable Array
Earthscope, a program of the National Science Foundation, consists of various experiments to examine the seismicity of the North American Continent.  One component of EarthScope is the USArray Transportable Array, a network of 400 high-quality seismographs that are being placed in temporary sites across the United States in a regular grid pattern with station spacing of about 44 miles.  After a residence time of two years, instruments are moved to the next carefully selected location on the eastern edge of the array.  Stations began arriving in Missouri in 2010 and all are now in place.  See if one is near your town.  Many stations are on private property, so please honor property rights.  Stations transmit data to the Array Network Facility at the University of California, San Diego.  The information will provide new insight to address fundamental questions in earthquake physics, volcanic processes, core-mantle interactions, tectonics, continental structure, and more.  Once the project is completed in 2012, data will have been collected from nearly 2,000 locations.  Read the POPSCI article announcing EarthScope as one of the Universe's Ten Most Epic Projects.  

National Level Exercise 2011 held May 16-20
In 2001, the bicentennial of the great New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-1812, Missourians took part in a five-day training exercise focused on a coordinated local, state and federal response to a magnitude 7.7 New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ) earthquake. The exercise, known as the National Level Exercise 2011 was designed to prepare and coordinate a multiple-jurisdictional integrated response to a national catastrophic event – specifically a major earthquake in the central United States region NMSZ. Activities took place at state geological surveys along with command posts, emergency operation centers and other locations to include federal facilities in the Washington D.C. area and federal, regional, state, tribal, local and private sector facilities in the eight member states of the Central United States Earthquake Consortium (CUSEC).

Earthquake Facts

Sinkholes and Landslides