By Charlotte Caldwell
JACKSON CENTER — In the early morning of Saturday, Dec. 9, a 3.0 magnitude earthquake struck just west of Jackson Center.
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), as of Monday afternoon, 351 people have reported feeling the earthquake that occurred at 12:27 a.m.
Sidney City Manager Andrew Bowsher and Shelby County Sheriff Jim Frye confirmed that no damage or injuries were reported in Sidney or Shelby County. According to the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale, a 3.0 magnitude earthquake would be “felt indoors by many, outdoors by few, at night some awaken; dishes, windows, doors disturbed; standing autos rock noticeably.”
According to a report from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), three areas of Ohio appear to be susceptible to seismic activity, and Shelby County is one of them with at least 40 felt earthquakes occurring in the area since 1875. About a dozen minor earthquakes have occurred around the latest quake since the 1980s, as shown on an ODNR interactive map. The largest recorded earthquake in Shelby County was a 5.2 magnitude earthquake in 1937 in the northwest corner of the county. During this and another earthquake in the same area a week apart, significant damage occurred in Anna, including toppled chimneys, cracked plaster, broken windows, and structural damage to buildings.
For USGS’s overview of the most recent earthquake in the county, visit https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us7000lhnz/executive. For an interactive map of earthquakes over time in Ohio, visit https://gis.ohiodnr.gov/MapViewer/?config=Earthquakes.
