Magnitude-3.6 quake was felt in at least six states

Although it was strong enough to be felt in at least six states, the earthquake that rattled the Mid-South late Wednesday night was just one of a “couple hundred” minor temblors that occur annually in the area, a researcher said Thursday.

“These small ones go off fairly regularly,” said Chris Cramer, research associate professor at the University of Memphis’ Center for Earthquake Research and Information.

The magnitude-3.6 quake occurred at 10:51 p.m. near Steele, Missouri, about 80 miles north of Memphis. It was 6.6 miles deep, according to the earthquake center.

It usually takes a temblor of at least 3.0 in magnitude to be felt on the surface, Cramer said.

The Missouri bootheel experiences many quakes because it lies along the New Madrid Fault Zone, a network of subterranean fissures zigzagging from Cairo, Illinois, to Marked Tree, Arkansas. The zone famously generated a series of extremely large quakes between December 1811 and February 1812.

Less than six weeks ago, on Feb. 28, a 3.1-magnitude temblor struck just southwest of New Madrid, Missouri. In 2012, a 4.0-magnitude quake occurred near East Prairie, Missouri, and another, measuring 3.9, struck near Parkin, Arkansas.

The temblor Wednesday night was felt across an area stretching from Southern Illinois to North Mississippi, according to a U.S. Geological Survey website that tracks felt reports. Of the 655 felt reports registered on the website by noon Wednesday, 117 came from Shelby County.