Earthquakes are not a common occurrence in the Midwest, but just two days ago Michigan experienced its second largest quake in 68 years.
On Saturday, May 2, 2015, a rare earthquake with a registered magnitude of 4.2 rattled the Western part of Michigan. The earthquake struck at about 12:30 p.m. The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the earthquake hit nine miles southeast of Kalamazoo, Mich., and five miles south of Galesburg, Mich.
Reports of the earthquake came flooding in on social media as local residents took to Twitter to say that they felt their homes or buildings shake for a bit. Others used Twitter to learn and make clear their suspicions of an earthquake.
For example, CNN reported a tweet from a Michigan resident that read “Only in Michigan where we have snow, an 80 degree day, and an earthquake in a week.” Detroit Free Press recorded other tweets reading, “felt the earth shake in Livonia. Don’t need to experience that ever again,” or “it almost seemed like a vehicle was crashing into the house.”
The earthquake was felt not only in Western Michigan, but also in lower parts of Michigan, Northern Indiana, Eastern Illinois, Southeastern Wisconsin, Northwestern Ohio and Western Ontario. Even the Chicago Tribune reported feeling slight tremors from the Michigan earthquake.
According to the Detroit Free Press, no injuries or damages were reported after the earthquake.
Geophysicist John Bellini stated that earthquakes at this magnitude usually cause minor damages such as items falling from shelves or high places, windows may crack and bricks may be slightly damaged. Major damage for earthquakes begins at a magnitude of 5 or above.
This was not the first time that an earthquake was reported in Michigan. This earthquake was the second largest one to hit Michigan. The largest Michigan earthquake was recorded at a magnitude of 4.6 back on August 9, 1947, in the South-central region of the state.
Although earthquakes are not common in the Midwest, the possibility of one occurring is still exists.
