By Matt Sepic, KWMU
St. Louis – Midwesterners were awakened early Friday morning by a moderate earthquake centered in southeastern Illinois.
There were no injuries, and only minor damage was reported. It happened at 4:37 a.m. The tremor measured 5.2 on the Richter Scale.
The U.S. Geological Survey said two small aftershocks during the next three hours measured 2.6 and 2.5. An aftershock at 10:14 a.m. measured 4.2.
The quake's epicenter was near Mount Carmel, Ill., not far from Evansville, Indiana.
Mount Carmel resident Mary Lou Kieffer said the quake was short, but it was enough to wake her up.
"Everything was shaking," Kieffer said. "We were in bed, and the whole bed was shaking. We got up and started looking around to see what was falling on the floor."
Seismic activity is not unheard of in the Midwest.
The New Madrid fault along the Mississippi River has produced several notable earthquakes over the past two centuries.
However this tremor happened in the Illinois Basin-Ozark Dome region, another seismic zone to the north.
In St. Louis, crews closed the Kingshighway bridge near Vandeventer Ave. because some concrete had fallen from it.
However after an inspection, the center lanes were reopened. St. Louis Street Department engineers say the outer lanes will remain closed while other parts of the bridge are inspected.
The U.S. Geological Survey has more information about the quake, including maps of its intensity.