According to USGS, another earthquake struck Ohio this afternoon near where an earthquake struck early Tuesday morning. Today’s magnitude 3.1 event was just as strong as Tuesday’s and struck about 4,000 feet away from the earlier quake’s epicenter. While no damage was reported, dozens of people used the USGS “Did you feel it?” web based online reporting tool to report feeling shaking and/or hearing booming noises. Today’s epicenter near Pleasant City, Ohio was 3.4 km deep which was more shallow than Tuesday’s 5.0 km depth.
According to USGS, earthquakes with a magnitude of 2.0 or less are rarely felt or heard by people, but once they exceed 2.0 , more and more people can feel them. While damage is possible with magnitude 3.0 events or greater, significant damage and casualties usually don’t occur until the magnitude of a seismic event rises to a 5.5 or greater rated event.
The magnitude 3.1 earthquake struck on Tuesday morning near Pleasant City from a depth of 5 km at 4:12 am local time; Pleasant City is between Columbus, Ohio and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. While there were no reports of damage or injuries, more than 3 dozen people reported to USGS they felt the quake through their “Did you feel it?” web reporting tool.
Earthquakes aren’t usually common in Ohio, but there has been an uptick in quakes around the state. A weak magnitude 1.8 event struck last November 25 to the north, just south of Youngstown. A magnitude 2.6 earthquake struck outside of Toledo in May. Before that, an earthquake hit on March 20 about 14 miles southwest of Gallipolis; it was a magnitude 2.3 event. On February 4, an even weaker magnitude 2.0 event struck near Athens. On January 23, an earthquake of the same magnitude, 2.0, struck near Fairport Harbor.
According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Ohio has deployed a seismic network with 21 seismograph stations throughout the state that continuously monitor and record earthquake activity. The Ohio Seismic Network (OhioSeis) went online in January 1999, ending a five-year gap during which there was only one operating station in Ohio. Ohio has 24/7 monitoring and coverage by seismic stations with automatic detection, location and magnitude determination.
USGS says Ohio has experienced more than 160 felt earthquakes since 1776. Most of these events caused no damage or injuries. However, 15 Ohio earthquakes resulted in property damage and some minor injuries. The largest historic earthquake in the state occurred in 1937. The 1936 event had an estimated magnitude of 5.4 and caused considerable damage in the town of Anna and in several other western Ohio communities.
