Earthquake shakes western Kentucky, no injuries reported

BARDWELL, Ky. (AP) -- An earthquake shook portions of western Kentucky early Friday, cracking sidewalks and rattling pictures off walls, authorities said. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Sheriff's dispatchers in southeast Missouri said they had no reports of quakes or damage in the region.

The 4.5 magnitude quake hit shortly before 7:30 a.m. CDT near Blandville in Ballard County, about 25 miles southwest of Paducah, and was felt in portions of western Kentucky and southern Illinois along the Mississippi River.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake was centered about 6 miles below the surface.

Ray Bowman, spokesman for the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management, said he had no reports of injuries.

In Carlisle County in western Kentucky, the quake cracked sidewalks, broke windows and knocked pictures off walls, said Donna Laird, the county's emergency management director.

"I left my house in tatters. I had everything on the floor," said Laird, who lives in Bardwell, about five miles west of the epicenter.

The county's 911 system went down temporarily when it was inundated with calls from residents, she said. The quake also briefly knocked out telephone service for much of the county.

Kathy Goss, a spokeswoman in Lexington, said Alltel serves about 1,100 customers in four exchanges -- Bardwell, Columbus, Arlington and Milburn -- near the quake. She said Bardwell customers were without phone service for about 15 minutes and the other customers were without service for about an hour.

The quake cracked an archway in the Carlisle County Courthouse, said county Judge-Executive John Roberts. Roberts was working in his office at the courthouse when the quake struck.

"It started out as a low rumble and quickly escalated into a deafening roar," he said. "I jumped and ran out of the courthouse as fast as I could go. I've never experienced anything like that in my life. It scared me to death.

Lorrie Mitchell, who works at a Bardwell grocery store, said the quake "shook some products off of our walls."

In Kingston Springs, Tenn., Glenn Remick said he was working on his computer at home when it started shaking.

"I felt it (the quake), then looked and saw things moving around me," Remick said.

The temblor struck within the New Madrid Seismic Zone, where earthquake scientists say some of the largest quakes ever in North America struck during 1811 and 1812. The zone includes parts of Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee.

A moderate earthquake shook western Kentucky and Indiana last June. That quake's epicenter was 10 miles northwest of Evansville, Ind., and part of the Wabash Valley Fault Zone.

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On the Net:

National Earthquake Information Center: http://neic.usgs.gov/