Earthquake rattles central Illinois to metro-east and St. Louis. Did you feel it?

The U.S. Geological Survey reported an earthquake in Illinois early Tuesday morning.

The epicenter was near the village of Ohlman in southern Christian County — about 90 miles northeast of downtown Belleville — and measured a 3.8 in magnitude. Such earthquakes are generally felt, but cause minimal, if any, damage.

No injuries have been reported.

Several News-Democrat readers reported feeling the earthquake at about 1:29 a.m., including one who says it awakened him in his home in Maplewood, Missouri. It was felt most strongly around Taylorville, Illinois, according to reports to the USGS.

According to the USGS, the territory of the quake is part of the Illinois Basin-Ozark dome region, which borders the New Madrid seismic zone. The Illinois Basin-Ozark dome region covers parts of Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas and stretches from Indianapolis and St. Louis to Memphis. The USGS reports moderately frequent earthquakes can occur throughout this region.

The last measurable earthquake felt in the metro-east was a 2.8 magnitude in March of 2024. A 3.8 in 2017 was said to be the largest recorded in Illinois since a 5.4 shook the St. Louis region in 1968.

In the winter of 1811 and 1812, the New Madrid seismic zone generated a sequence of earthquakes that lasted for several months and included three very large earthquakes estimated to be between magnitude 7 and 8. A fault near New Madrid, Missouri, made the Mississippi River flow backward.

Earthquakes of magnitudes between 1.0 and 2.0 are measured by seismographs every day in the New Madrid Seismic Zone, according to the USGA. However, people do not feel tremors of that magnitude.

The U.S. Geological Survey rates earthquakes on a scale relative to the amount of damage they can cause:

2.5 or less: Usually cannot be felt.

2.5-5.4: Often felt, but causes only minor damage. There are an estimated half-million worldwide each year.

5.5 to 6.0: There may be slight damage to buildings and other structures. They are more rare, though, with 350 or so annually.

6.1-6.9: The 100 that occur annually may cause significant damage in areas that are highly populated with a density of buildings.

7.0-7.9: This is a major earthquake with serious damage, injuries and deaths. The planet averages about 10 to 15 each year. The Loma Prieta Earthquake that caused $6 billion in damage in the San Francisco area in 1989 was at the lower end of this range.

8.0 or more: Can destroy whole communities at its epicenter. There are maybe 1 or 2 each year. The U.S. Geological Survey reports there is about a 10% chance of a 7.5 to 8 magnitude earthquake in the next 50 years.

For a New Madrid quake of a 6 magnitude, there is about a 30% chance in a 50-year window.