Oklahoma quake felt in St. Louis area - 450 miles away
St. Louis (KSDK) - The biggest earthquake in Oklahoma's history struck over the weekend, even shaking ground right here the St. Louis area. The 5.6 quake hit Saturday night, about 44 miles Northeast of Oklahoma City. NewsChannel5 talked to some residents in our area to get their account.
We're a good 450 miles away from the epicenter of this quake, but a number of locals reported feeling this quake take to the U.S. Geological Survey.
"Had just rolled over and was trying to go to sleep and could feel the bed move," says Caseyville resident, Rick Penny.
"The couch. I mean the whole couch... and I felt the ground," says O'Fallon, Illinois resident Traci Allen.
From Hazelwood to Collinsville and Troy, and back around to Florissant, many St. Louis area residents logged on to our KSDK Facebook page Saturday night to tell us they felt the earth move. A 5.6 earthquake hit northeast of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and seismologists say it shook people in at least seven states.
Whether or not you felt it, depended on what you were doing.
"Because it's a weak motion, it would be felt by people that are sitting down, instead of people running around and moving. Sometimes people if they're reclining might be more sensitive than if they're sitting up," says Bob Herrmann, a seismologist and professor for St. Louis University.
Herrmann says the quake hit around 10:45 Saturday night. He says we all have a tiny "seismograph" in our inner ears, which helps us pick on subtle movement like an earthquake more than 450 miles away.
"This is disturbing our balance and we notice it," says Herrmann.
Herrmann also says your location also plays a role in you feeling the movement.
"If you are in an upper story of a building, the building will sway. If you're in the basement, you're right next to the hard ground and it's not going to be as much," says Herrmann.
SLU faculty say they will be working with the U.S.G.S. to help determine what fault line produced Saturday's earthquake.
