INDIANAPOLIS -- Aftershocks as strong as magnitude 4.5 followed a strong earthquake that hit early Friday.
The USGS Web site said the 5.2 magnitude earthquake was centered in southern Illinois near West Salem, Ill., about 40 miles north of Evansville, Ind., but was felt as far away as Milwaukee, 350 miles to the north.
It struck at about 5:37 a.m., WRTV in Indianapolis reported.
Aftershocks hit at 11:15 a.m., 10:55 a.m., 9:46 a.m., 9:36 a.m., 9:15 a.m. and 9:03 a.m., the television station reported. The 11:15 a.m. quake, which had a preliminary magnitude of 4.5, was felt in downtown Indianapolis and across southern Indiana. The others were too small for most people to notice.
Skyscrapers shook in Chicago's Loop, 240 miles north of the epicenter, and in Indianapolis, 160 miles to the northeast. People in Cincinnati and St. Louis also felt the earth shake.
The quake appears to have caused no major injuries or damage, but it had residents across the Midwest talking Friday morning.
A resident of Philo, Ill., south of Champaign, said the house was shaking, and the windows were rattling. He said for central Illinois, it was "a big deal."
Indiana State Police spokesman Sgt. Todd Ringle said there were no immediate reports of damage in the state, but damage to a downtown building was evident in Louisville, Ky.
Ringle said he was shaken out of his bed in the Evansville area by the earthquake.
The earthquake was felt as far away as South Bend and Fort Wayne. It was also felt in the Chicago area and parts of Wisconsin.
Air traffic was grounded for about an hour at Indianapolis International Airport as the tower was evacuated. All of the runways were checked and were cleared for usage.
It shook tall buildings in downtown Indianapolis.
Bonnie Lucas, a morning co-host at WHO-AM in Des Moines, Iowa, said she was sitting in her office when she felt her chair move and heard the ceiling creak. She said the shaking lasted about five seconds.
Numerous phone calls poured into the WRTV from viewers who felt the earthquake.
Geophysicist Randy Baldwin at the U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was "fairly large" for the region, but that it is the type that might occur "every few years."
The last earthquake in the region close to the strength of Friday morning's tremor was a 5.0 magnitude in 2002.
The biggest on record, a 5.5 magnitude, happened in 1968, causing damage in southern Illinois.
Distributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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