New Madrid Fault Shaken By 45 Quakes in November, Many Were Felt

It was a very active month along the New Madrid Fault. A total of 45 measurable quakes were detected along the fault and many were large enough to be reported felt by many in the area.

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While there's certainly no reason for alarm, it is interesting that of the 45 quakes in November along the New Madrid Fault, several were over 3.0 in magnitude with the largest being a 3.2 near Van Buren, Missouri and another 3.2 closer to Tiptonville, Tennessee. Here's the shake map shared by the USGS.

If you look at the details of the 3.2 that was recorded near Van Buren, Missouri on November 5, you'll see that 89 people reported feeling it.

It's important to note that none of these quakes would be considered anything other than minor at best and certainly no cause for worry. It's one of America's most active seismic areas and while the uptick in quakes in November is interesting, it's not really that unusual. By comparison, there were 36 quakes reported in September.

It's easy for reports from the USGS like this to be taken out of context. For example, a couple weeks ago reports of animals behaving weirdly was connected to a possible earthquake threat. And, we're not even gonna talk about the infamous prediction back in 1990.

Yes, the USGS has reminded us that we do live in an area where a dangerous earthquake could occur. The quakes in November just don't mean that it's necessarily gonna happen tomorrow.