Rare Earthquake Shakes Northern Ill.

(CBS/AP)  Updated at 5:05 p.m. ET

A small earthquake woke residents and shook furniture in northern Illinois early Wednesday, causing no major damage or injuries but startling people as far away as Michigan and Iowa.

The epicenter of the 3.8-magnitude earthquake was near the villages of Gilberts and Pingree Grove in Kane County, about 45 miles northwest of Chicago, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The USGS initially reported the magnitude as 4.3 but later downgraded it.

(Scroll down to watch CBS News Station WBBM-TV in Chicago interview people who felt the earthquake)

"It's rare in northern Illinois," USGS geophysicist Amy Vaughan said. "It's downstate where we'd expect the larger quakes and where the larger ones have happened historically."

She says the agency received reports from Wisconsin, Iowa and Indiana about feeling the ground shake. Vaughan described the shaking as light to moderate.

Sheriff's dispatchers near the epicenter in Kane County say they were flooded with calls from startled residents. But spokesman Lt. Pat Gengler says no injuries or damage have been reported.

Residents reported being tossed out of bed and finding books and tools scattered across the floor.

In Pingree Grove, 43-year-old artist Dan Erman said the temblor moved his bed and woke him.

"I knew it was an earthquake," Erman said. "It was pretty loud. The bed headboard was hitting the back of the wall."

Erman said he heard dogs barking and when he looked outside he saw his neighbors turning on their lights. There was no damage to his home.

Some residential and business alarms were triggered, but deputies weren't called for assistance, Kane County sheriff's spokesman Lt. Pat Gengler said. DeKalb County Sheriff Roger Scott said residents in his area also reported feeling the earthquake, but no damage was reported.

Exelon Nuclear said in a statement that the earthquake didn't affect its plants in Illinois and its plant teams conducted equipment checks to ensure there was no damage.

The last earthquake in the area was recorded at a magnitude of 4.2 on June 28, 2004, about 35 miles away from Wednesday's earthquake, according to the USGS.

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On the Web

U.S. Geological Survey: http://www.usgs.gov/

Local Video from CBS 2 in Chicago

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Local Video from CBS 2 in Chicago

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[SusanStoHelit]

You don't get tossed out of bed by a 3.8! Are the houses built that differently - or did people just get startled and leap out of bed? It's a 3.8 - that often enough isn't even felt by people who are awake out here.

[BlandNancy]

You probably wouldn't be tossed out of bed in a 3.8 magnitude earthquake in California and the West-But earthquakes east of the
Rockies are felt over a wider area due to numerous reasons and
conditions, including how infrequently these events happen.

[ajvw]

the little knows george w. bush fault

[Brokennews]

?The threat of what happened to Haiti is a threat that can happen anywhere in the Caribbean, to the Island nations. You know? We're are all in peril because of global warming."

Danny Glover



See you guys!! Your furnaces are turned up way too high & this is what you get!! You need to heed the word of Danny Glover!!! Him smart man!!

[rondivoo]

When I lived in Alaska we had similar magnitude earthquakes and it is possible to hear it and feel it just as described by Illinois residents. During one of these earthquakes, a friend of mine was shook out of his bed. Also, items on shelves, etc. rattled around and moved into new positions.

[I_am_me1953]

So did your frined like the way mother nature redecotated?

[lloydbest1]

Must be something in the underlying rock or else it was really shallow. Out on the Pacific Coast where I live, we get these shakes of similar magnitude quite frequently and I can barely feel them even when they go off nearby.

Other news sources mention people feeling this thing as far away as Madison WI and central Iowa.

[book_of_wally]

Woke me up.

[pragmatist1]

Recent update is that it was a 3.8 with the epicenter NW of Chicago in Gilbert, IL, closer than originally reported; I'm twenty-eight miles SW of downtown Chicago and it was a strong sensation. My bed shook, contents rattled around and my building made creaking noises. Because we don't have much rocky terrain, vibrations are more stronger and travel over wider areas than other parts of the U.S. used to this natural occurrence, like CA. It was a bit unnerving to be awakened at 3:59am (my digital clock reading). At first, I thought it was a snowplow that hit my building, it was that noisy.

[I_am_me1953]

I don't like being awaken at 0359, but then I jst get up and go pisz then back to bed.

Have to get use to it once you hit the magic 60+ years.

[nasadawg]

Anyone check the salt mines?