UPDATE: Minnesota ‘earthquake’ likely from explosion at quarry
Published 5:45 pm Tuesday, April 25, 2017
- Authorities are checking out Jefferson Quarry as possible source of tremors Tuesday morning. File photo
MANKATO, Minn. — Shaking ground in central Minnesota left residents of Mankato asking Tuesday morning if they’d just experienced an earthquake.
While rumors ran wild, the Blue Earth County Sheriff’s Office believes the tremors that occurred just after 11 a.m., in this city 90 miles southwest of Minneapolis, came from a blast at Jefferson Quarry in the northwestern part of the city.
BEC Emergency Management Director Mike Maurer said there have been no reports of significant damage, and Mankato police are now handling the investigation.
“Right now what seems to be the potential culprit is that there was scheduled blast at the quarry at 11 a.m.,” Maurer said. “And the shaking seemed to come shortly after that.”
Kasota stone is prized for its color and variations and is used in construction around the world and has been mined in the area for more than 100 years.
There are two quarries in the Mankato area, but they are mostly unseen by residents and mining has stopped at the Mankato Quarry The still operating Jefferson Quarry parallels the Minnesota River.
A news release from the city of Mankato said a vibration felt through most of the city may have been due to weather as overpressure may have caused a “pressure wave.”
“We’ve been telling people we pretty much don’t know what’s going on,” the dispatcher said shortly after 11 a.m.
I swear Mankato just had an EARTHQUAKE my whole building shook and I AM SHOOK
— g@+3$ (@mothafckinfence) April 25, 2017
Residents said they felt like their homes were going to collapse and they headed outdoors.
Geri Gooderkragh, a resident of Lafayette and North Sixth Street, said her entire sofa moved. She met with her neighbors who said they had similar experiences with glassware trembling on the shelves.
The explosion even shook the Blue Earth County Historic Courthouse, temporarily halting a Blue Earth County Board of Commissioners meeting as county officials openly wondered whether an earthquake happened or a bomb from North Korea had detonated nearby.
County Administrator Bob Meyer was surprised the explosion wobbled the building side to side.
“This is a pretty sturdy building, it’s been around for 125 years,” Meyer said. “This is not a building that typically would move.”
Details for this story were provided by the Mankato, Minnesota Free Press.