JONESBORO, Ark. (AP) - Six small earthquakes struck areas along the New Madrid fault on Wednesday, but an earthquake specialist says only two were felt by residents in Arkansas, Tennessee and Missouri.
The earthquakes, centered along the New Madrid Seismic Zone, registered between 1.5 and 3.4 in magnitude, said Gary Patterson, director of the University of Memphis Center for Earthquake Research and Information.
The first earthquake - which was 3.4 in magnitude - was centered in a rural area south of Sikeston, Mo., Patterson said. That quake was felt by people in northeast Arkansas, western Tennessee and southeast Missouri.
Later Wednesday afternoon, a 1.7-magnitude earthquake shook an area near Gosnell. Early Tuesday morning, a 2.8-magnitude quake hit Faulkner County in central Arkansas, Patterson said.
Patterson said his office has recorded nearly 250 earthquakes on the New Madrid fault so far this year.
---
Information from: The Jonesboro Sun, http://www.jonesborosun.com
©2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
