MARYLAND, USA — Did you feel the small earthquake that rattled Sykesville, Maryland and surrounding areas late Tuesday night? If so, you are not alone.
The 2.0 magnitude quake rocked central Maryland just before midnight on Oct. 11, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The epicenter was in Patapsco Valley State Park, but people miles away could still feel it.
People reported feeling it 40 kilometers away, some even say they felt it from 80 kilometers away - leaving them with questions on how rare the occurrence truly is.
THE QUESTION
How often does earthquakes hit Maryland?
THE SOURCES
- U.S. Geological Survey
- The Maryland Geological Survey
- Richard Ortt, Director and State Geologist at the Maryland Geological Survey
WHAT WE FOUND
When looking into the data, it can seem like there have been a lot more earthquakes happening around the area in the last 20 years. But that has not been the case.
Experts say we simply have a better ear to the ground.
"There's plenty of capture capability, so it is likely that we are capturing more earthquakes and documenting more earthquakes than we were in the past," Ortt said.
In Maryland, the majority of earthquakes tend to be pretty small with them being around a 2 on the Moment Magnitude Scale.
Over the years, specifically very recently, agencies have gotten better at recording smaller quakes, according to Ortt. Simply meaning that older measurement standards likely missed the tremors we see today.
So - no, earthquake rates aren't increasing in our area, we are just getting better at measuring them.
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