A swarm of earthquakes hit a massive 150-foot-long fault line in the Midwest that scientists fear is overdue for a mega-quake.This little-known New Madrid sits in America's Heartland, passing through Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky and Illinois.
The US Geological Survey detected eight quakes from December 6 to 11.
Missouri experienced seven that hit Howardville, Matthews, Martson Hayward and Cooter, and Ridgely, Tennessee experienced one.
The largest quakes were a magnitude 3.0 and 2.6 that struck near Howardville, and the rest measured roughly magnitude 2.
Any earthquake less than magnitude 2.5 generally isn't felt, but the shaking can be detected by a seismograph.
Eight earthquakes rattled along the New Madrid fault line, sparking fear of the 'big one'
Approximately seven of the quakes rocked the region within a nine-hour span, with the 3.0-maginuted at 6:27am ET.
And on December 11, the eight was detected in Howardville.
The area has not had a significant quake in more than 200 years.
Scientists have warned that the fault line can generate a magnitude 7 or higher in the next 50 years.
The chances of a quake that size is around about 40 percent, but 'every year that goes by, the likelihood becomes greater,' said Robbie Myers, an emergency coordinator with the Missouri Department of Safety.
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