© USGS
East Prairie - Residents got an early morning jolt Tuesday after an earthquake rumbled at least nine states, causing minor damage and a big stir in the town of East Prairie, near the quake's epicenter.
"I live on a main highway and five miles from the reported epicenter," Rhonda Brack, a manager at Tasters Restaurant in East Prairie, told msnbc.com. "It sounded like a semi-truck and it rattled my windows and it rattled my house."
She said the magnitude 4.0 earthquake has been the hot topic of conversation since the popular breakfast and coffee house opened up at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday.
"We're no strangers to quakes, but
this one was different," Brack said. "We had one four years ago and that one rolled. This one was straight underneath us and lasted for 30 seconds or so. It reminded you of lightning."
U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist John Bellini said the rural farming community of East Prairie is known for its seismic activity.