Sunday, May 1, 2011

Earthquake in Alexandria, Just Down the Road

Sunday, May 1, 2011. Divine Mercy Sunday. A few snowflakes were coming down this morning when the family went to church this morning. As I've said before, springtime in Minnesota is - different.

My oldest daughter came to visit this weekend, arriving Friday afternoon. As usual, she brought her cat, Twitches, with her. Twitches earned her name - and was even more 'twitchy' and nervous Friday afternoon.

Probably for good reason: #1 daughter told me that she'd heard the early-morning earthquake in Alexandria that morning.

Normally, I'd be writing more about Sauk Centre: but this week I'm concentrating on excerpts from the news about that earthquake:

"Earthquake Hits Alexandria, MN; Very Unlikely in Duluth"
Jacob Kittilstad & photojournalist Jeff Ernewein, FOX 21 News (Duluth, Minnesota) (April 29, 2011)

"Early Friday morning in Alexandria, Minnesota, neighbors had a shakey awakening.

"An earthquake rattled part of the city causing no injuries but leaving some Minnesotans wondering if it could happen anywhere else.

" 'I have never heard of an earthquake happening in the Midwest,' one Duluth woman said leaving the grocery store.

" 'Yeah, it would be weird.'

"But, at 2:30 a.m. it happened the U.S. Geological Survey said. The magnitude reading was a 2.5 in Alexandria where worried phone calls poured into authorities...."
"Minor quake shakes western Minnesota"
U.S. News, UPI (April 29. 2011)

"A minor earthquake rattled western Minnesota early Friday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

"The quake measured 2.5 on the Richter scale, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. The epicenter appeared to be on the edge of the town of Alexandria, near the airport.

"John Bellini, a geophysicist with the survey, said about 20 people reported feeling the quake. There were no reports of damage...."
"Earthquakes happened in region in 1975, 1993"
Echo Press (Alexandria, Minnesota) (April 29, 2011)

"Keith Brugger, a Professor of Geology at the University of Minnesota, Morris, said he hadn't yet reviewed any information regarding Friday's quake, but added that it probably was an event on the Great Lakes Tectonic Zone.

"West Central Minnesota sits on a 'suture,' or boundary, of the GLTZ. About 2.5 billion years ago, rocks of the Minnesota River Valley, which are 3.5 billion years old, collided with the slightly younger volcanic mass represented by granites and 'greenstones,' Brugger said.

" 'That event happened so long ago and we're still living with its legacy,' Brugger said.

"The greenstones were volcanic island arcs -- such as Japan and the Philippines -- that previously collided and contributed to the formation of North America, Brugger stated...."
"Magnitude 2.5 Earthquake Strikes Near Alexandria, Minn."
myFOX9.com (Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota) (April 29, 2011)

"A rare earthquake struck western Minnesota early Friday, rattling ceiling tiles and prompting a few curious callers to phone 911 but going largely unnoticed by most of the sleeping public, authorities said.

"The quake, which the U.S. Geological Survey said was magnitude-2.5, struck at 2:20 a.m. and was felt mostly in the Alexandria area.

"Sgt. Tom Egan of the Douglas County sheriff's office said staff at the county's 911 center felt it and took 25 to 30 calls from the public, mostly from people who were just curious. By contrast, he said, county dispatchers typically get hundreds of calls during severe thunderstorms.

"Callers reported some noise and minor movement, including "ceiling tiles bouncing just a touch," Egan said. But he said nobody reported any damage or anyone hurt. Relatively few people in the largely rural area would have been awake at the time, he said.

"He said the department was referring callers to the USGS web site for further information.

"Minnesota gets a 'feelable' earthquake every five to 10 years on average, though that can vary a lot -- and more often than not, they're in west-central Minnesota, said Val Chandler, a geophysicist with the Minnesota Geological Survey...."

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