Bellmont, Illinois – An earthquake with an epicenter near the central Illinois town of Bellmont was recorded at 4:36 AM Central daylight time this morning, and could be felt for over 540 miles into Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Chicago, Indianapolis, Des Moines and Grand Rapids.

The quake was originally reported as a magnitude 5.4 on the Richter scale, but as is usually the case, was adjusted as more information was analyzed, and is now bring reported by the USGS as a 5.2 magnitude.

Early risers catching the news and weather report on Evansville, Indiana’s Channel 14 WFIE observed the weatherman trying to get through the local forecast in the midst of the rumbling.

As someone who has lived on a black zone fault line for 11 years in Northern California, I can attest that a 5.4 magnitude is a very significant earthquake and from watching the video it is clear that it created much more shaking and for a much longer period of time than any earthquake I have ever experienced.

In Illinois – go figure! But as the New York Times reports, this location is the only US location besides the west coast and parts of the rockies with a high risk of damaging earthquakes. The weatherman also notes that it is unsurprising – although most of us were blissfully unaware of the danger there, residents seem to accustomed to the occasional tremor.

It was the largest earthquake in the region in about 40 years.
A magnitude 5.3 quake caused minor damage in 1968.