2.9 Magnitude Earthquake Shakes Northern Miami Valley

A small earthquake rocked parts of the northern Miami Valley Monday night.

Michael Hansen of the Ohio Seismic Network said preliminary data shows that the 2.9 magnitude quake hit Shelby County between the towns of Botkins and Anna at about 9:06 p.m.

People also felt the quake in Minister and Fort Loramine.

Minster resident John Leese said he was not sure what the rumble was until he came out and began talking to neighbors. His neighbors said they had friends and relatives who felt the quake in McCartysville.

Amy Hilgefort from Minster said, “As I was sitting on the bed rocking my 4-month-old to sleep, the floor started to shake under me.”

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office said they did not have any reports of injuries or damage.

EARTHQUAKES IN THE ANNA SEISMIC ZONE This small seismic zone in western Ohio has had moderately frequent earthquakes at least since the first one was reported in 1875. The largest earthquake (magnitude 5.1) caused damage in 1937. Moderately damaging earthquakes strike the Anna seismic zone every two or three decades, and smaller earthquakes are felt two or three times per decade.

Earthquakes in the central and eastern U.S., although less frequent than in the western U.S., are typically felt over a much broader region. East of the Rockies, an earthquake can be felt over an area as much as ten times larger than a similar magnitude earthquake on the west coast.

A magnitude 4.0 eastern U.S. earthquake typically can be felt at many places as far as 100 km (60 mi) from where it occurred, and it infrequently causes damage near its source. A magnitude 5.5 eastern U.S. earthquake usually can be felt as far as 500 km (300 mi) from where it occurred, and sometimes causes damage as far away as 40 km (25 mi).