Early Morning Earthquake Rattles Ohio

Today's earthquake struck at the orange dot inside the colored concentric circles on the map. Image: USGS — Today’s earthquake struck at the orange dot inside the colored concentric circles on the map. Image: USGS

A relatively weak earthquake struck southern Ohio east of Cincinnati during the early morning hours today. According to USGS, a magnitude 2.5 earthquake struck at 5:50 am near Hillsboro, Ohio from a depth of 6.4 km. Despite the intensity and time, dozens of people did use the “Did you feel it?” reporting tool on the USGS website to report they felt and/or heard today’s earthquake.

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.

History of earthquakes across Ohio from 1776-2007. Image: USGS

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 November 2024 to the north, just south of Youngstown. A magnitude 2.6 earthquake struck outside of Toledo months before 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.