Earthquake rattles residents near St. Louis

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Web Editor - Jay Marchmon

Story Created: Tue Jun 7, 2011 2:16 PM

Story Updated: Tue Jun 7, 2011 2:19 PM

ST. LOUIS - A magnitude 4.2 earthquake rattled the St. Louis region early Tuesday, waking thousands of residents but with no reports of damage, officials said.

About 2,600 people logged onto the U.S. Geological Survey's Web site to report having felt the quake in Washington County, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The U.S. National Weather Service in Paducah reports the earthquake was centered 51 miles southwest of St. Louis and started around 3:10 a.m. The tremor was picked up by a seismic station at Salem, KY, but was not actually felt at the Weather Service office in Paducah.

Many who experienced it said it was a very subtle shaking or swaying.

Some southern Illinois communities reported feeling it, and reports came into the USGS Web site from as far away as Ohio and Alabama.