Professor: Cape County quake Sunday typical of activity in region

A small earthquake that hit at approximately 5 p.m. Sunday near Jackson is fairly typical of seismic activity in the region, said Pamela Mills, geosciences instructor at Southeast Missouri State University.

Mills said Monday that small earthquakes and tremors occur quite often in Southeast Missouri along the New Madrid Seismic Zone.

“Approximately 200 earthquakes are detected along the seismic zone every year,” Mills said. “Most of these earthquakes occur 2 to 10 miles below the surface, with the recent small earthquake just east of Jackson ... falling within that range.”

The United States Geological Survey report indicated the quake was a magnitude 2.3, with an epicenter 6 kilometers, or about 3.7 miles, north-northeast of Cape Girardeau, at a depth of 13.2 kilometers, or about 8.2 miles, according to www.usgs.gov.

Mills added, “Even though it is part of everyday life here, to experience these small earthquakes, it should be noted that seismologists consider the NMSZ to be one of the most potentially dangerous earthquake regions in the entire country. Three of the most intense earthquakes ever to occur on the North American continent occurred along the NMSZ back in 1811 to 1812.”

The USGS did not list any reports of damage from the quake, as of Monday afternoon.