Downstate earthquake rattles people awake across Chicago area

“The largest historical earthquake in the region (magnitude 5.4) damaged southern Illinois in 1968.”

Tremors from a moderate earthquake centered in downstate Illinois rattled people awake across the Chicago area Friday morning, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or significant damage, authorities said.

The earthquake, which measured 5.2 on the Richter Scale, struck at 4:36 a.m. near the town of West Salem, Ill., about 60 miles northwest of Evansville, Ind., according to the U.S. Geological Survey. An intitial estimate of the magnitude put it at 5.4, which would have matched the strongest earthquake to ever be recorded in the region. Read more