Apr 18, 2008 10:45 am US/Central
4.5 Aftershock Rattles Southern Ill. After Quake
Temblor Rattled People Out Of Bed
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
An earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 5.2 struck southern Illinois early Friday, and was felt throughout the Chicago area.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake struck with an epicenter about six miles from West Salem, Ill. and 66 miles from Evansville, Ind. at 4:36:57 a.m.
There were no immediate reports of injuries.
The tremor was felt in CBS station WBBM-TV's studios inc Chicago, where audiovisual equipment and other items shook as the staff prepared for the news, and many of the staff reported the building shook.
Police scanner traffic also indicated that it was felt throughout the city and across the northern Illinois.
WBBM-TV's Executive Producer of Digital Media John Dodge said between 4:30 and 5 a.m., he was awoken by a rattling sound in his house in Northwest Indiana.
Viewer Vito Cifaldi added that he had felt the walls shake and the walls vibrate.
WBBM-TV reported there have been several calls to 911.
The New Madrid Fault is the largest center for seismic activity in the area. It was not immediately returned if the New Madrid Fault was origin of the earthquake.
"It shook our house where it woke me up," said David Behm of Philo, 10 miles south of Champaign. "Windows were rattling, and you could hear it. The house was shaking inches. For people in central Illinois, this is a big deal. It's not like California."
Bonnie Lucas, a morning co-host at WHO-AM in Des Moines, said she was sitting in her office when she felt her chair move. She grabbed her desk, and then heard the ceiling panels start to creak. The shaking lasted about 5 seconds, she said.
The quake shook skyscrapers in Chicago's Loop, 240 miles north of the epicenter, and in downtown Indianapolis, about 160 miles northeast of it.
Irvetta McMurtry of Cincinnati said she felt the rattling for up to 20 seconds.
"All of a sudden, I was awakened by this rumbling shaking," said McMurtry, 43. "My bed is an older wood frame bed, so the bed started to creak and shake, and it was almost like somebody was taking my mattress and moving it back and forth."
Lucas Griswold, a dispatcher in West Salem, said the Edwards County sheriff's department received reports of minor damage and no injuries.
"Oh, yeah, I felt it. It was interesting," Griswold said. "A lot of shaking."
Indiana State Police spokesman Sgt. Todd Ringle in Evansville said there were no immediate reports of damage.
The quake occurred in the Illinois basin-Ozark dome region that covers parts of Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas and stretches from Indianapolis and St. Louis to Memphis, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The organization's Web site said earthquakes occur irregularly in the area, and that the largest historical earthquake in the region - a magnitude 5.4 - caused damage in southern Illinois in 1968.
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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