Mississippi Clarion Ledger

• A 3.0 magnitude earthquake struck near Magee, Mississippi, a region already hit by multiple tornadoes on Saturday.
• The earthquake, considered minor, occurred at a depth of 10.5 kilometers and caused no damage.
• This seismic event follows a 2.5 magnitude earthquake near the Ross Barnett Reservoir on Thanksgiving Day.
• The Mississippi Valley, particularly the New Madrid seismic zone, is known for its seismic activity, although Oklahoma has seen a surge in earthquakes since 2014.

An earthquake has struck near Magee, Mississippi, an area dealing with multiple tornadoes on Saturday.

According to the U.S. Geological survey, a magnitude 3.0 earthquake hit Magee Saturday at a depth of 10.5 kilometers. Earthquakes in the 3.0 to 3.9 magnitude are considered minor.

According to the USGS, “damage does not usually occur until the earthquake magnitude reaches somewhere above 4 or 5.”

Magee, with a population of 3,988 in the 2020 U.S. Census, sits on U.S. 49 about 42 mils Southeast of Jackson heading toward Hattiesburg. Three tornadoes are believed to have touched down in the vicinity on Saturday.

The Magee earthquake, reported just after 1 p.m., was the only seismic activity recorded in the last three weeks in Mississippi.

A 2.5 magnitude earthquake struck near the Ross Barnett Reservoir on Thanksgiving Day, the United States Geological Survey confirmed.

The minor-earthquake struck around 12 kilometers southeast of Canton at a depth of 5 kilometers. It happened around 7:48 a.m. No damage was reported.

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That Thanksgiving quake was recorded on the north side of the of the reservoir near where Highway 43 crosses the lake and south of the Natchez Trace Parkway.

Earthquakes have happened in the region before, including several that have been felt.

“Until 2014, when the dramatic increase in earthquake rates gave Oklahoma the number one ranking in the conterminous U.S., the most seismically active area east of the Rocky Mountains was in the Mississippi Valley area known as the New Madrid seismic zone,” according to the USGS website.

Magee was the site a few weeks ago of white supremacist recruiting efforts, the police chief confirmed.

Nearby Taylorsville, only 19 miles from Magee, has seen reports Saturday of multiple homes damaged as well as a damaged high school from a tornado.

Debris from the tornadoes has been thrown thousands of feet into the atmosphere.