New Madrid Fault

If you blinked, you missed it. It was brief, but there was an earthquake to make sure everyone in southeast Missouri was awake thanks to the ever-present New Madrid Fault.

If you aren't an earthquake nerd like I am, you likely didn't even notice what's been happening along the New Madrid Seismic Zone near Missouri over the past few days. There's a sudden swarm of 8 measurable quakes that have been confirmed by the USGS.

A new simulation shows what would happen to Missouri if a 7.7 magnitude earthquake along the New Madrid Seismic Zone happened.

The New Madrid Fault began 2024 rather quietly, but has made up for lost time as the month of May has seen 33 quakes already shake southern Missouri including the biggest earthquake of the year so far.

I have learned a lot about earthquakes studying the New Madrid Fault that borders Missouri for decades and I'm still barely scratching the surface. That being said, I'm a little bit mystified why there were 27 quakes since mid-April along the fault, but now it's suddenly gone quiet.

I pay attention to earthquakes in Missouri and also Illinois. We live near two very active seismic zones which are both capable of major quakes. That's why it got my attention when I did some digging and learned there have been nearly 30 Missouri earthquakes in the past 30 days plus a couple of strange ones in Illinois.

As of today, scientists say that you cannot predict earthquakes in Missouri or anywhere else. However, there are some that are now claiming that solar flares could be connected to the shaking of the Earth and there is some data to back up their beliefs.

If you've ever wondered what would happen if the predicted 7.7 earthquake would ever hit the New Madrid Fault Zone in Missouri, wonder no more. A computer simulation shows how many people and cities would be devastated in real-time.

I don't know if you've noticed, but 2024 has started off strange. Winter in Missouri has been weird with way above normal temperatures and very little snow. Oh, and now on consecutive days, there have been bizarre Missouri quakes and this latest one was bigger, too.

Since I was born and raised in Missouri and I am an earthquake nerd, I thought I knew everything there was to know about faults in Missouri. The only one in Missouri is New Madrid, right? Wrong.