INDIANAPOLIS — A magnitude 3.8 earthquake shook parts of Indiana and several other states Thursday, prompting a wave of calls to local authorities from rattled residents but causing little damage.
The U.S. Geological Survey said on its website that the quake, which was about three miles deep, occurred at 7:55 a.m. and was centered near Greentown in Howard County, about 50 miles north of Indianapolis.
USGS geophysicist Randy Baldwin said the quake, which lasted only a few seconds, was felt by people as far away as Wisconsin. A listing on the agency's website even included responses from New Jersey, North Carolina and Virginia.
"It's really quite remarkable how widely this was felt," said John Steinmetz, director of the Indiana Geological Survey in Bloomington.
The quake initially was reported as magnitude 4.2, but the USGS later downgraded it.
The Indiana Department of Transportation said it was inspecting bridges within 10 miles of the epicenter for structural damage.
Most Ball State students were in other parts of the state, but some felt the earthquake.
Freshman respiratory therapy major Rachel Balek said the temblor woke her up.
"I was at home sleeping and I was dreaming that I was in an earthquake, when I woke up to moving walls and shaking," she said. "My family didn't even wake up."
However, freshman business major Eli Collis said he didn't feel the earthquake.
"I live in Fishers, and I heard it wasn't very strong over there," he said. "My dad was driving at the time and didn't feel it either."
Howard County Chief Sheriff's Deputy Steve Rogers said the department was bombarded by phone calls after the quake from people wondering if there had been an explosion. He said some people reported hearing a loud boom.
Baldwin said such booms are fairly common during earthquakes.
Steinmetz said the epicenter of the quake was near the little-known Sharpsville fault, which runs through southeastern Howard and northern Tipton counties. He said quakes were rare in the northern half of Indiana, where only three had been recorded since the early 1800s — one in 1881 and another in 1938.
Steinmetz said quakes were more common in southwestern Indiana.
The last major quake to shake Indiana was a magnitude 5.2 quake in April 2008 centered in Illinois that was felt as far away as Atlanta.
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