The U.S. Geological Survey said a strong earthquake struck southern Illinois Friday, extending as far as 128 miles away into St. Louis and other parts of Missouri.
The epicenter of the 5.2 magnitude earthquake struck five miles north-northeast of Bellmont, Ill., just after 4:30 a.m. CDT. The USGS said it received reports of the quake being felt as far west as Kansas, as far north as the upper peninsula of Michigan and as far south as Georgia.
Reports say the earthquake caused skyscrapers to sway in Chicago and Indianapolis.
The early morning quake was followed with several aftershocks, the most powerful of which was a 4.6 magnitude quake at 10:14 a.m. CDT. The epicenter was located six miles east-northeast of Bone Gap, Ill.
There were reports of minor structural damage in West Salem, Ill., and Louisville, Ky., USGS said.
A 4.5 aftershock struck the region today at 12:38 a.m. five miles Northwest of Mount Carmel, Ill., the USGS said. Eighteen aftershocks have rocked the region since Friday's 5.2 tremor.
In a statement the USGS said that earthquakes, while less frequent east of the Mississippi River, are felt over a wider area.
"Earthquakes of comparable size are felt over greater distances in the East than those occurring in the West," said Harley Benz, seismologist for the USGS. "Earthquakes in the central U.S. are infrequent, but not unexpected."
BingMing Shen-Tu, project manager at AIR Worldwide said the reason for the greater range is that the central and eastern United States are characterized by dense rock that "propagates seismic energy over a much larger area than would an earthquake of similar magnitude occurring in California."
The agency said that of greater concern in the region is the New Madrid fault zone that could cause more devastating earthquakes. The USGS noted the winter 1811-1812 series of three large earthquakes, the strongest to strike the lower 48 states in memory, that were felt throughout most of the nation. They generated hundreds of aftershocks, some very devastating, for years afterward.
The USGS also noted that while modern day building codes take earthquake activity into account, buildings built before the code changes have not been updated or adequately retrofitted.
AIR said the event is not expected to cause significant insured losses, but a magnitude 6.0 or larger would cause significant damage to larger structures.
The largest recorded earthquake to hit Illinois was a 5.3 magnitude quake in 1968.
(This story was updated at 10:06 a.m.)
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