A swarm of at least 15 earthquakes reaching up to 2.1 magnitude rattled Ridgely, which is about 20 miles north of Dyersburg, near the Mississippi River — last Friday and Saturday, according to a U.S. Geological Survey.

The other quakes in the swarm ranged from 1.1 to 1.5 magnitude, according to the USGS.

A series of quakes, including the 2.1 temblor, began shortly after 2 a.m., Friday, about 1.3 miles southwest of Ridgely, the USGS reported.

They continued hourly until just before 5 a.m., before another 1.1 quake hit around 7:30 a.m.

There were more to come on Saturday, the last of which struck at 2:11 p.m., according to the USGS.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Ridgely has a population of 1,657 people.

It’s also part of the New Madrid Seismic Zone — which the Missouri Department of Natural Resources refers to as “the most active seismic area in the United States, east of the Rocky Mountains.”

Hundreds of earthquakes every year are reported in the New Madrid Seismic Zone, but the state agency said most go undetected by humans.

Magnitude measures the energy released at the source of the earthquake, the U.S. Geological Survey says. It replaces the old Richter scale.

Quakes between 2.5 and 5.4 magnitude are often felt but rarely cause much damage, according to Michigan Tech.

David Thomas, Twitter – @DavidThomasWNWS
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