Surprise Earthquake Rattles Rare Destination

An earthquake rattled an uncommon destination in the Midwest early on Wednesday.

In the U.S., earthquakes are most commonly reported in areas like California and Alaska, with some quakes rattling places such as Texas as a result of fracking. Earthquakes with a magnitude of less than 7 don't typically cause extensive damage or fatalities, but smaller ones can still shock residents living in areas that don't usually experience the tremors.

On Wednesday just before 6 a.m. Eastern time, a 3.6 magnitude earthquake struck southeast of Standard, Illinois, and some tremors were felt in the surrounding areas.

"Earthquakes in the heartland?! They aren't common but they do happen. Did the earth move for you, Illinois? Please let us know!" the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday morning.

Newsweek reached out to the USGS by email for comment.

Standard is a small town with less than 300 people, roughly 100 miles southwest of Chicago. Many of the residents responding to the USGS post said they slept through the quake, but some said they felt shaking when the quake woke them up.

"Apparently, we just had an earthquake. In Illinois. Woken up at 4:43 to the house shaking," one user posted on X. "Others in neighboring towns are reporting the same thing. That was wild."

One X user said he felt the quake in Oglesby, which is eight miles east of Standard. "Working on the second floor, thought my house was collapsing," he wrote.

The Quantectum Global Earthquake Forecasting Center shared a video showing tectonic waves in the area and mentioned that residents were documenting the shocks.

"They report feeling shaking and being woken up by tremors, while buildings and objects also shook," the center's X post said.

Most earthquakes in Illinois are minor, and a USGS map shows that of the quakes hitting the state, most occur in the southern half. Earthquakes rattle the northern half of Illinois much less frequently, and the last one to hit the area was in 2015, when a 2.9 magnitude quake struck near the village of Lake in the Hills. The strongest quake to hit northern Illinois had a 5.1 magnitude and struck Lockport, Illinois, in 1909.

Damage from an earthquake often depends on outside variables, such as distance from the quake or the soil. But the USGS said earthquake damage usually occurs once a magnitude surpasses 4 or 5.

A USGS shake map shows that most people felt the quake around Standard in north-central Illinois, but some shaking was felt as far northeast as Chicago and as far southwest as Winchester, which is 180 miles away.