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Headlines • Magnitude 7.6 - PAKISTAN, October 8, 2005 • Magnitude 6.1 Near the South Coast of Honshu, Japan, July 23, 2005 • Yet Another, 6.7 Quake Off The Coast Of Northern California, June 16, 2005 • 3rd Quake To Strike California This Week, June 16, 2005 • Tsunami Warning Cancelled After Magnitude 7.2 Off the Coast of Northern California, June 15, 2005 • Magnitude 8.7 - Northern Sumatra, Indonesia, March 28, 2005 • Earthquake Down Under - Magnitude 7.1 rattles Indonesia and Australia, March 2, 2005 • Worlds Strongest Quake in 40 Years Strikes Northern Sumatra: Tsunami Deal Toll Approaching 300,000, December 26, 2004 • Magnitude 7.0 - Hokkaido, Japan Rregion, November 28, 2004 • Magnitude 7.2 - Papua, Indonesia, November 26, 2004 • Magnitude 7.1 - Off West Coast Of The South Island, N.Z., November 22, 2004

This earthquake was widely felt including initial reports from as far away as West Virginia. The earthquake caused only minor damage in the immediate area of the event. The USGS has received reports of minor damage including broken glass, objects thrown off of shelves, and cracked chimneys. No injuries have been reported.

The earthquake occurred in one of the more seismically active portions of the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. A large area covering southern Illinois, southwestern Indiana, and parts of western Kentucky and southeastern Missouri has earthquakes rather frequently, by eastern U.S. standards. Most years, this area has a few earthquakes large enough to be felt, but, on average, damaging earthquakes occur about once a decade. The largest earthquakes from this region in the twentieth century were the magnitude 5.5 southern Illinois earthquake of November 1968 and the magnitude 5.2 southern Illinois earthquake of June 1987. The magnitude 3.9 southern Indiana earthquake of December 7, 2000 had an epicenter very near that of today's shock. This seismicity is north and northeast of the well-known New Madrid seismic zone, which is in the bootheel of southeastern Missouri and adjacent Arkansas and western Tennessee. The earthquake occurred within the generally stable interior of the North American plate, far from currently active plate boundaries. The modern earthquakes in this part of the U.S. are thought to result from the reactivation of ancient faults, which are being squeezed by stresses from the modern motion of tectonic plates. Previous earthquakes in this area have not been associated with movement on specific geologically mapped faults.

In the past 10 years, geologists working in the area have found evidence of prehistoric earthquakes in the Wabash River Valley that were probably much larger than any historical earthquakes. Geologic evidence indicates that these prehistoric earthquakes occurred several thousand years ago.

== PRELIMINARY EARTHQUAKE REPORT == U.S. Geological Survey, National Earthquake Information Center Version #6: This report supersedes any earlier reports of this event. This event has been reviewed by a seismologist. A moderate earthquake occurred at 17:37:13 (UTC) - Coordinated Universal Time on Tuesday, June 18, 2002. The magnitude 5.0 event occurred 9 km (6 miles) WSW of Darmstadt, IN. The hypocentral depth was 5 km ( 3 miles). Magnitude 5.0 - local magnitude (Ml) Time Tuesday, June 18, 2002 at 17:37:13 (UTC) - Coordinated Universal Time Tuesday, June 18, 2002 at 2:37:13 PM (ADT) - Atlantic Tuesday, June 18, 2002 at 1:37:13 PM (EDT) - Eastern Tuesday, June 18, 2002 at 12:37:13 PM (CDT) - Central Tuesday, June 18, 2002 at 11:37:13 AM (MDT) - Mountain Tuesday, June 18, 2002 at 10:37:13 AM (PDT) - Pacific Tuesday, June 18, 2002 at 9:37:13 AM (AKDT) - Alaska Tuesday, June 18, 2002 at 7:37:13 AM (HST) - Hawaii Distance from Darmstadt, IN - 9 km (6 miles) WSW (255 degrees) Highland, IN - 11 km (7 miles) WNW (283 degrees) Cynthiana, IN - 13 km (8 miles) S (170 degrees) Evansville, IN - 15 km (9 miles) NW (312 degrees) Coordinates 38 deg. 4.2 min. N (38.069N) 87 deg. 40.8 min. W ( 87.680W) Depth 5 km (3.1 miles) Location Quality Poor Location Quality Parameters Nst= 59, Nph= 59, Dmin=140.9 km, Rmss=0.93 sec, Erho=3.9 km, Erzz=0 km, Gp=43.2 degrees Event ID# usfnbk