4.3 Earthquake Hits Chicago Area

A magnitude 4.3 earthquake hit the northern Illinois area on Wednesday (Feb 10) morning at 4am CST rocking many of Chicago's surrounding suburbs. The quake was felt from Wisconsin to Tennessee. There are no reports of any damage or injuries so far.

The fault systems of northern Illinois are not as well understood as those in other regions where earthquakes are more common. More investigation will be needed to determine the cause of Feb 10 quake.

A magnitude 5.2 quake struck downstate Illinois in April of 2008 and was the worst to hit the state since 1968. By comparison the earthquake that hit Haiti was a 7.0 on the Richter scale and about 1,600 times the magnitude of the Feb 10 trembler.