A 5.2 magnitude earthquake shook the Minonk area early Friday morning. The quake occured around 4:37 a.m. and was centered 6 miles from West Salem, or 19 miles
southeast of Olney. Minonk resident Jim Meyer said the quake caused the pendulum of his grandfather clock to bang against the side of the clock walls. Rural resident Dave Uphoff said he heard two different tremors. Both times the quake caused the handles on the dresser drawer to bang against the drawer. Uphoff also felt the house shake. No damage was reported in the area.
The quake is believed to have involved the Wabash fault, a northern
extension of the New Madrid fault whose epicenter is in southeast Missouri and southwest Illinois. The New Madrid fault is at the center of the country's most active seismic zone east of the Rockies. It produced an earthquake of a magnitude of 7.0 in 1811 and was said to have rung church bells as far away as Boston.