Did you feel that? Small earthquake recorded near Calhoun overnight

May 30, 2023 | 10:04 am

Updated May 30, 2023 | 10:05 am

Earthquake

A 3.0 earthquake was recorded less than 4 miles west of Calhoun at 9:45 p.m. Monday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Geological experts have previously said that if a sizable earthquake hits Daviess County, there would be a major affect on downtown Owensboro.

Regarding Monday’s earthquake, as of 9:30 a.m. Tuesday the USGS reported receiving 42 responses on its “Did You Feel It?” survey, with every response saying the intensity was weak, light, or not felt at all.

No damage has been reported at this time. According to USGS, damage does not usually occur until the earthquake magnitude reaches somewhere above 4 or 5 magnitude. More technical information about the recording of the earthquake can be found here.

In 2018, Owensboro Times spoke to a geological expert who said because of Western Kentucky’s proximity to the New Madrid fault line, it’s not a matter of if the area will have a sizable earthquake, but when.

“It will happen sometime in the future,” James Howard, a retired geologist, said at the time. “There is no way at this time to predict whether it will be tomorrow or 150 years.”

According to Howard, much of downtown Owensboro lies in an old channel of the Green River spanning 2,500 ft. If a major seismic event on the New Madrid causes side effects above 5.0 in magnitude, “liquefaction” would occur in the area of the old riverbed.

Howard said a maximum impact could affect an area from the former Daviess County Middle School to Crabtree Avenue and as far south as 9th Street, making the earth like quicksand.

According to the USGS, in the winter of 1811-1812 the New Madrid seismic zone generated a sequence of earthquakes that lasted for several months and included three large earthquakes estimated to be between magnitude 7 and 8. The three largest of those destroyed several settlements along the Mississippi River, caused minor structural damage as far away as Cincinnati and St. Louis, and were felt as far away as Connecticut, South Carolina, and Louisiana. More information on those earthquakes can be found here.

May 30, 2023 | 10:04 am

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