3rd small quake in a week registered in northeast Arkansas

By ArkansasOnline Press Services

HARDY — The U.S. Geological Survey reported a small earthquake near Hardy in northeast Arkansas, the third such one in the area near the New Madrid fault this week.

A dispatcher for the Sharp County sheriff's office was not aware of Saturday's tremor and said authorities there had not received calls from the public about it.

The Geological Survey said the 2.6-magnitude quake occurred at 7:06 a.m., about six miles from Hardy and nine miles from Mammoth Spring.

Late Wednesday, a pair of small earthquakes rumbled east Arkansas, but authorities say there was no damage or reports of injuries.

The Geological Survey says a 2.7-magnitude earthquake struck at about 11:35 p.m. Wednesday Its epicenter was 5 miles southwest of Cooter, Missouri, and 5 miles north-northeast of Blytheville.

A second earthquake with a magnitude of 2.6 hit about an hour earlier. Its epicenter was 8 miles east of Haynes and 10 miles northeast of Marianna.

The New Madrid fault runs from southern Illinois to northeastern Arkansas, and produces hundreds of small quakes a year, most too weak to be noticed without scientific equipment.