Earthquake rocks major US city that sits on top ancient fault line (2025)

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An earthquake measuring a 3.1 magnitudehas hit outside the capital city of Ohio.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) detected the tremor 77 miles east of Columbus at 3:14pm ET.

The region sits atop an ancient fault line, a pre-existing weakness in the Earth's crust that can be reactivated by tectonic stress, making it more prone to earthquakes.

The USGS shows 'weak' to 'light' shaking was felt around the epicenter in Cambridge.

Another earthquake hit the same around on Tuesday, also measuring a 3.1 magnitude.

An assessment from Michigan Tech University showed that people typically do not feel quakes with a magnitude of 2.5 or less.

Those from 2.5 to 5.4 are often felt but only cause minor damage.

However, no injuries or damages have been reported following Thursday's quake.

The fault line near Cambridgeis known as the Burning Springs-Cambridge fault zone that formed more than 4.6 million years ago.

The 31-foot fault extends from West Virginia through eastern Ohio.

The USGS shows Thursday's quake hit at a shallow depth of two miles.

The shallower an earthquake, the more damage it can produce at the surface.

The 3.1 magnitude earthquake that hit on April 22was centered about 1.2 miles southeast of Pleasant City in Noble County and occurred at a depth of three miles.

No injuries or damages were reported.

While the epicenter sits on an ancient fault, Ohio is also home to fracking that has been linked to earthquakes.

Fracking involves miners drilling deep into the earth's surface and releasing high-pressure water that creates a small explosion to release natural gas and oil that can be used to create energy.

Improved technology has allowed energy companies to gain access to huge stores of natural gas, but has raised widespread concerns that it might lead to groundwater contamination and earthquakes.

Texas, another major fracking state, has also experienced increased seismic activity in recent years.

A 2022 study by the University of Texas at Austin concluded that 68 percent of Texas quakes above magnitude 1.5 were 'highly associated' with oil and gas production.

Dr Alexandros Savvaidis recently explained how more drilling could end up leading to more seismic activity in the state.

'Deep injection wells, in particular, are linked to higher-magnitude earthquakes,' Dr Savvaidis told KMID.

'Whereas shallower injections seem to be less hazardous in terms of large seismic events.'

Ohio has experienced eight earthquakesof magnitudes above 2 and up to 3.1 since the start of 2025.

The Ohio Geological Survey released a new report this week, showing the state experienced129 earthquakes last year.

That puts the state right on par with recent years, but was slightly higher than 127 that hit in 2023 and 135 in 2022.

'The largest earthquake recorded within Ohio's borders in 2024 was the ML 3.9 earthquake on December 16 in Lawrence County,' the report reads.

Ohio

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