Small earthquake rattles region

LEOPOLD, Mo. -- It wasn't exactly The Big One, but a 3.6-magnitude earthquake early Tuesday morning was The Big Topic in parts of Bollinger and Stoddard counties.

Many residents said they were awakened by a loud, thunderous noise and rattling windows at 2:30 a.m. when the quake hit.

"It sounded like an explosion," said Paula Miles of Advance, Mo. "I didn't feel the shaking so much. I didn't know what it was."

Neither did Heather Roe-Seabaugh of Advance.

"At first, you think of everything but an earthquake ... a sonic boom or thunder," she said, adding that she realized what was happening as the house shook for five or six seconds. "I had a hard time going back to sleep."

The epicenter was located two miles west of Leopold, Mo., in Bollinger County, said Christine Smith, earthquake education specialist for the Center for Earthquake Studies at Southeast Missouri State University.

Depending on the subsurface composition at various locations, the highest intensity level may not be at the epicenter.

Comparing measurements

The intensity level measures the severity of an earthquake in terms of its effects on the earth's surface and on humans and their structures. The magnitude is defined as a measure of earthquake size calculated from ground motion recorded on seismographs.

Evaluations of the quake's intensity varied.

Based on some reports of glass rattling in Puxico, Mo., the Center for Earthquake Research and Information in Memphis, Tenn., rated the quake's intensity level at four.

But Smith, after hearing reports of pictures being knocked off the wall, said "you're getting to a level five."

Level five quakes are when injuries can occur.

"The one thing I'm worried about is that people talk so much about big quakes," Smith said. "But the lower ones can do damage. Level five is where you start having the overturning of furniture like large bookcases."

Smith said one of the university's professors felt the quake in Fruitland, Mo., which is about 30 miles from Leopold. According to the United States Geological Study Web site, one person reported feeling weak tremors in Blytheville, Ark.

The earthquake's effects seemed to have been felt most near the village of Glennon, Mo., located about four miles south of Leopold.

Brandon Bueter, 16, of Glennon, Mo., said pictures fell off his wall and photo albums slid off his dresser.

"I was sleeping and all of a sudden I heard this loud crash and I hit my head on the headboard," he said. "Everybody woke up, even Dad. It shook the house pretty bad."

Robert Horrell, also of Glennon, said the quake woke him, too.

"I heard a rumble and I thought to myself, 'That wasn't thunder,' " Horrell said.

Living with faults

Smith said Southeast Missouri is located in a seismic zone with multiple faults, and earthquakes like the one Tuesday should be expected from time to time.

She also said the earthquake was not a part of the famous New Madrid fault zone. That is the location where experts say a severe earthquake could occur.

Smith said to help prevent injuries in an earthquake, people should make sure large furniture is secured to a wall. And heavy items should not rest or hang any higher than the head level of the smallest member of the family.

Diann Williams of Advance can probably relate to Smith's advice.

"I was asleep and I heard this noise," Williams said. "My television is mounted on the wall and it was shaking. When I sat upright, I thought if that things falls off the wall, I'm never going to get another television."

Bizarre timing

Less than 12 hours before the real earthquake, Leopold School had an earthquake drill.

"I thought it was kind of weird because yesterday we had an earthquake drill," said Chelsea Broshuis, 12.

Broshuis' classmate Desiree Arnzen, 12, was actually awake when the earthquake hit. She had just gotten back to bed after taking some cough medication.

Arnzen said her mother had just gone back to bed.

"I thought for some reason my mom was running through the house," Arnzen said. "But then I thought 'She couldn't shake the whole house.' I just felt like the wind was blowing hard on the windows and like someone was jumping up and down real hard."

bmiller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127