BENTON COUNTY — [UPDATED 12:30p.m., remove reference to Richter Scale, changed Arkansas Geological Service to Arkansas Geological Survey and University of Arkansas (not at Little Rock).]
A 2.5-magnitude earthquake rattled Benton County on Thursday morning.
The quake happened at 10:52 a.m. The quake was considered minor.
The U.S. Geological Survey issued conflicting reports Thursday evening of the quake’s epicenter, one on Benton County 569 near Arkansas 279 between Vaughn and Centerton and the other about 9 miles away near Punkin Hollow Road between Centerton and Bentonville.
More than 200 area residents logged onto the Survey’s website — www.usgs.gov — by 3:30 p.m. to report feeling the earthquake. One person reported feeling it in Joplin, Mo
Karen Ciampoli, owner of Doma Bella’s Italian restaurant in Centerton, said she felt the floor shake under her feet.
“I could not believe it. It was like ‘Wow. That was an earthquake,’” Ciampoli said. “I used to live in Florida with all of the (space) shuttles, and it feels just like that when they hit the sonic boom.”
Robert Coffelt, Centerton’s chief building official, said he thought the company that empties the trash bin at City Hall had backed into the building when he heard a rumbling followed by what he described as a “boom.”
“I ran outside and that was not it. Then I was thinking that maybe it was a microburst because of the weather that was supposed to be coming in, so I’m looking and I’m looking and there’s nothing,” Coffelt said.
Coffelt then called the Arkansas Center for Earthquake Education and Training in Little Rock. That’s how he found out the rumbling and brief swaying he felt was an earthquake.
“It did not last long at all. It just rumbled and bam, that was it,” Coffelt said.
Centerton Mayor Bobbie Griffith said she was worried a large sycamore tree outside her office had fallen when she heard a noise that sounded like thunder just before feeling the earth move beneath her.
Then her office phone started to ring.
“People are asking, ‘Did we have an explosion? Did we have an accident? Did somebody shoot somebody?’” Griffith said, noting her office took more than 20 phone calls in the 90 minutes after the earthquake.
The Centerton Police Department took about 15 earthquake-related calls during the same time span.
Dr. Stephen Boss, a professor of geosciences at the University of Arkansas, said the earthquake was likely the first one recorded in the area. Boss said there likely won’t be any aftershocks because the earthquake was so small.
The quake occurred on the Bella Vista fault line that runs from southwest to northeast between Bentonville and Bella Vista.
There are three fault lines in the county: Bella Vista, one near Decatur and one that runs north from Fayetteville. The three fault lines are inactive, said David Johnston, a geologist with the Arkansas Geological Survey in Little Rock.
Boss and Johnston said Thursday’s earthquake was an oddity for the area because Northwest Arkansas does not have much seismic activity.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported 40 earthquakes had happened worldwide by 4 p.m. Thursday. The largest were a pair 5.1 magnitude earthquakes in Chile in South America and the island of Vanuatu in the South Pacific.
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What’s Shakin?
Richter Scale
The Richter Scale magnitude and effects:
• Less than 2.0: They are not felt. About 8,000 micro earthquakes happen each day worldwide.
• 2.0-2.9: Generally not felt but recorded. Almost 1,000 are recorded each day worldwide.
• 3.0-3.9: Often felt but rarely cause any damage. About 49,000 occur each year worldwide.
• 4.0-4.9: Noticeable shaking of indoor items and rattling noises. Damage is likely. An estimated 6,200 occur annually worldwide.
• 5.0-5.9: Can cause major damage to poorly constructed buildings and slight damage to well built structures. There are 800 per year worldwide.
• 6.0-6.9: Destructive in areas of 100 miles across in populated areas. 120 happen each year worldwide.
• 7.0-7.9: Causes serious damage over larger areas. 18 happen annually worldwide. The earthquake that struck Haiti in January was a 7.0 magnitude.
• 8.0-8.9: Causes serious damage over several hundred miles. One happens each year worldwide. The earthquake that struck near Chile in February was a 8.8 magnitude.
• 9.0-9.9: Devastating in areas over several thousand miles. One happens every 20 years worldwide.
• 10.0 and above Never recorded.
Source: U.S Geological Survey