A light 2.8 magnitude earthquake took place in Webster County during the evening of Sunday, Feb. 23., (United States Geological Survey, Courtesy)
WEBSTER CO. — A light 2.8 magnitude earthquake took place in Webster County during the evening of Sunday, Feb. 23.
According to the United States Geological Survey, the quake took place 29 miles south of Hastings. It has a shallow depth six miles and was likely not widely felt.
This isn’t the first time a minor quake had occurred in Webster County, the last time was Sept. 18, 2023 when a 2.6 magnitude earthquake took place.
According to the NSGS, areas east of the Rocky Mountains experience infrequent earthquakes.
Earthquakes east of the Rocky Mountains, although less frequent than in the West, are typically felt over a much broader region than earthquakes of similar magnitude in the west.
Most earthquakes in North America east of the Rockies occur as faulting within bedrock, usually miles deep.
“East of the Rockies, an earthquake can be felt over an area more than ten times larger than a similar magnitude earthquake on the west coast. It would not be unusual for a magnitude 4.0 earthquake in eastern or central North America to be felt by a significant percentage of the population in many communities more than 100 km (60 mi) from its source,” per the NSGS.
