MEMPHIS, TN – It’s been a busy week on the New Madrid fault. A series of small earthquakes rattled parts of western Tennessee and Arkansas during the last few days. This latest series of quakes has caught the attention of scientists. "There were several events last week that were in the magnitude 2.5 to 3 range,” explained Tish Tuttle, who works with the Center for Earthquake Research and Information on the University of Memphis campus. "There have been some events up near Tiptonville. And those earthquakes are in the range of magnitude of one and a half, to two.”
That’s not unusual for western Tennessee.
"There are a number of faults in that region including western Tennessee, southern Missouri, southeast Missouri and northeast Arkansas that produce small events on a regular basis,” Tuttle said. "In the New Madrid region in general, there are about 200 earthquakes per year. The majority of them are small, small enough that you wouldn't feel them."
Seismologist Steve Horton is keeping a close eye on those earthquakes. He traveled to Conway, Arkansas, last weekend in hopes of tracking any more movement along the fault.
“This will help us understand what's generating those earthquakes,” said Horton, Tuttle's colleague at the Center for Earthquake Research and Information. "There's been a history of seismic activity in that general vicinity, so that's no surprise to have earthquakes there."
Tuttle said researchers can't predict when earthquakes will strike, but they can try to prepare for what lies ahead:
“Those estimates are that for a magnitude 6 to 6.5 earthquake, there is a 25 to 40 percent chance of such an event occurring over the next 50 years,” she said.
Tuttle said the last major earthquakes to hit the New Madrid rolled through in 1811 and 1812. The strongest reached a magnitude of 7.5, with aftershocks felt as far away as St. Louis.
That earthquake zone will be the focus of a conference in Memphis next week. Researchers and seismologists from across the country will talk about how to respond to earthquakes. It's scheduled to take place at the University of Memphis.
