Earthquake Shakes South-Central Nebraska; Three Quakes Rattle Cowles Area
An earthquake measuring 4. 1 struck near Cowles Sunday afternoon, and two smaller quakes followed later that day, prompting reports from communities across Nebraska and into Kansas.
Earthquake centered near Cowles at 12: 59 p. m.
The U. S. Geological Survey recorded a magnitude 4. 1 quake at 12: 59 p. m., south of Hastings and about three miles east of the Webster County village of Cowles in south-central Nebraska near the Kansas border. The agency logged the quake’s depth at around 2 miles and said the shaking traveled a minimum distance of 86 miles. A quake of that magnitude is considered "light" and not likely to cause damage.
Aftershocks struck about 90 minutes and later that night
Roughly an hour and a half after the first event, the U. S. Geological Survey recorded a 2. 6-magnitude aftershock, logged at 2: 30 p. m. and centered not far from the original site with a depth of nearly 3. 5 miles. A third quake of 2. 6 magnitude was recorded at 8: 45 p. m., placed more south than the first two and measured at a depth just over three miles. One account in the coverage described the aftershock area as about a mile east of the original quake site.
Reports stretched from Beaver Crossing to Manhattan, Kansas
Dozens of people reported feeling the shaking. Residents from Beaver Crossing to Lincoln said they noticed a faint rumbling of the floor or rattling in their houses, and the U. S. Geological Survey received reports from as far away as Omaha and Manhattan, Kansas. Numerous people posted accounts on social media describing the events.
Voices from Cowles: fridge, train or dog?
Some people initially mistook the rumble for household or local noises. "I was looking at my phone sitting at the table and I thought at first it was the fridge or something, " Richard Webb said. David Crable described waking in bed to the motion: "Pretty much what happened I was laying in bed and and all the sudden I felt shaking. I thought it was my dog just shaking behind me but then I thought, there was no way that was my dog. " Others compared the feeling to a passing train.
