QUAKE RATTLES NERVES IN 5 STATES

ANNA, Ill. - A light earthquake rattled the ground and people's nerves in at least five states early Saturday morning, but reports indicated that damage, if any, was very light.

No injuries were reported.

The National Earthquake Information Center in Boulder, Col., said the quake occurred at 8:56 a.m., CST, and registered 4.2 on the Richter Scale.

The seismograph at Southeast Missouri State University detected the earthquake for about six minutes, but it was only felt by most people for about 10-20 seconds.

Authorities said the quake's epicenter was in Southern Illinois, near the small Union County community of Lick Creek. The town is located on I-57, about 15 miles northeast of Anna, and about 35 miles northeast of Cape Girardeau.

Seismologists said the epicenter of the quake is located near the junction of the Ste. Genevieve and Centralia faults, and the northern edge of the New Madrid Fault Zone, in the Southern Illinois Basin.

The quake was apparently felt over a 150-200 mile wide area, including St. Louis. It was not felt in Poplar Bluff, according to the Missouri Highway Patrol. Illinois State Police said the quake was felt from Vienna to the south and Sparta, in Randolph County, to the north.

Greta Richey, who lives in rural Jackson County, Ill., near Carbondale, said the quake felt like someone had opened and slammed her door.

"I have this vanity dresser and it started shaking," she said. "The TV was on a stand and it was shaking ... the bed was trembling."

Union County Deputy Sheriff Steve Stearns was working as the day radio dispatcher when the quake rumbled. "It was one of the strongest I've felt. The building shook for about 4-5 seconds. It was pretty obvious that it was more than a sonic boom," he said.

Stearns said he had not received any reports of damage by late Saturday afternoon, but had received many calls from anxious residents. "I think everything that's happened out in southern California last month has got everyone stirred up more than usual in this area," he said.

Some witnesses said the quake seemed to last anywhere from 10-20 seconds. Cape Girardeau police said they received numerous telephone calls from people wanting to know if it really was an earthquake they had felt.

Olive Keller, who lives on Bloomfield Road, just west of I-55, near Cape Girardeau, said the quake rattled her house for about 15-20 seconds. She said the leaves on her African violets atop her microwave were shaking. "I also heard a little rumbling," Keller said.

Patrolman David Felton was the on-duty station commander at the Cape Girardeau police station when the quake occurred. Felton said at first he thought it was a heavy semi-truck passing by the police station on South Sprigg Street. "It shook the building," he said.

Jerry Canady, a weather observer for the Missouri Weather Coop, at the Cape Girardeau Airport, said the quake rattled furniture in the airport terminal building office and shook the coffee pot.

Canady said the quake started as a slight vibration, then intensified and peaked, the began to decrease in intensity; all within 20-25 seconds. "I was talking to the control tower (next door) when it happened. I felt the quake, but the controller in the tower didn't feel a thing," he said.

State Rep. Mary Kasten of Cape Girardeau was working in her office at her home at 1209 Sailer Circle when the quake occurred. "I heard a rumble, then I felt the tremor, then I noticed the light fixture on the ceiling was moving. I was ready to make a dash outside," she said.

After the quake, inspectors for the Southern Pacific Railroad were sent to inspect the railroad bridge at Thebes to determine if any rails on the bridge had been knocked out of alignment.

One resident who lives near the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks in Scott City said he thought it was a passing freight train until the windows kept on rattling - and he realized there was no train on the tracks.

Cape Girardeau School Superintendent Dr. Neyland Clark said all of the district's school buildings were checked for possible damage. None was found.

Some witnesses described the sensation of Saturday's earthquake as similar - but less intense than the 4.6 magnitude earthquake that shook the region at 8:16 a.m., on Sept. 26, 1990. The epicenter of that quake was located about 10-15 miles below the earth near New Hamburg, in northern Scott County, and resulted in some minor damage.

The last earthquake of this magnitude to occur in the region was on May 3, 1991. The 4.6 magnitude quake occurred at 8:19 p.m., and was centered near Risco, in the Missouri Bootheel.