People in Lincoln and Omaha are reporting they felt the earth move Sunday afternoon. A 4.1 magnitude earthquake was reported near the village of Cowles, Nebraska in Webster County around 1:00. That’s near the Nebraska-Kansas border.
The U. S. Geological Survey reports it was about two miles below the surface and traveled at least 86 miles. The shallow depth resulted in localized shaking near the epicenter and some people who experienced it report a minor rumbling of the floor or rattling inside their homes.
Oliver Boyd, a research geophysicist with USGS in Colorado, tells KLIN News that the area is considered “a cluster of recent seismicity,” with about 17 recorded earthquakes since 2022. The two largest of that cluster before Sunday’s earthquake had magnitudes of 3.5 and 3.6.
But 4.1 magnitude is a moderate sized quake for for the central and eastern U.S., according to Boyd, on top of being a rare occurrence.
“When you get close to a magnitude of 4 or greater, you’re going to feel it pretty good, especially if you’re right on top of it. So people just experienced the basic shaking, maybe their water glass shook or they felt a little tremor,” Boyd said. “There were reports of magnitudes of five to six near the earthquake’s epicenter. But it was felt over 100 miles away.”
Boyd said shallow earthquakes are often felt more strongly at the surface than deeper events of similar magnitude.