PORTIA, Ark. (AP) -- An earthquake of magnitude 2.8 occurred Monday morning in northeast Arkansas.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake occurred at 4:52 a.m. three miles east-northeast of Portia in Lawrence County and 90 miles northwest of Memphis, Tennessee, the largest population center nearby.
That magnitude is considered barely strong enough to be felt on the earth's surface and too weak to cause serious damage. The New Madrid Seismic Zone, which includes northeast Arkansas, produces numerous small earthquakes each year. A series of quakes believed to be some of the strongest ever to hit North America occurred in the region in late 1811 and early 1812.
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