Earthquake shakes southern Missouri

A 3.6-magnitude earthquake rumbled in southern Missouri on Tuesday.

Caruthersville and Kennett, Missouri felt the quake most strongly, along with Dyersburg, Tennessee and Blytheville, Arkansas, according to KFVS news.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported its intensity as 3.6 and 11.2 kilometers deep, along the New Madrid Fault.

The quake hit two months after a series of smaller earthquakes shook the same area, around Howardville, Caruthersville and Lilbourn, Missouri. Five earthquakes shook the area within one hour in the Bootheel, according to Fox 2.

With an increasing number of small earthquakes in the area, the USGS has put the probability for a magnitude 6 earthquake along the New Madrid fault above 90 percent in the next 50 years. The New Madrid seismic zone includes southeast Missouri and adjacent states, described as the most seismically active area east of the Rocky Mountains. In addition, earthquakes in this area tend to be felt over a broader region than West Coast earthquakes — as much as 10 times larger, according to Fox 2.

This story was originally published January 16, 2018 at 12:03 PM with the headline "Earthquake shakes southern Missouri."