New Madrid Fault Active Again With 6 Missouri Quakes

I see New Madrid Fault things that most people don't simply because I'm an earthquake nerd and am fascinated by all of the seismic activity in southern Missouri. That's why I suspect that 6 New Madrid Fault quakes that have just happened in just the past few days will be a surprise to most.

Let me start by emphasizing that what I'm about to share with you should not cause alarm. This is a map provided by the USGS showing earthquake activity in the Missouri bootheel just over the past few days.

None of these quakes have even been moderate in strength, but several of them have been felt by local residents especially the 2.6 magnitude quake which happened a day or two ago.

I have seen some other news outlets reporting on these individual quakes, but I'd like to focus on the overall trend of an uptick in New Madrid Fault quake activity. I actually see this as a good thing as this might indicate that pressure along the fault is releasing instead of building up to a major event. Keep in mind I am NOT a seismologist or expert on the subject, but I have seen USGS theories that small quakes can release pressure in places like the New Madrid Fault. Not all experts are on-board with that concept and believe that small quakes do NOT make a major quake less likely. Agree to disagree? Perhaps I'm just in denial.

The bottom line is that there are more earthquakes this week along the New Madrid Fault than there have been in awhile. I find that interesting, but I also don't think it's a reason to head to the doomsday bunker just yet. Being prepared for a potential major earthquake in southern Missouri is always a good idea, though.