MADISON TOWNSHIP – A low-intensity earthquake was recorded by seismographic instruments just before 7 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 6, with an epicenter north of Powderhorn Golf Course.
The 2.6 magnitude quake, which occurred at a depth of just over five miles, was logged by the U.S. Geological Survey at 6:50 a.m., with an epicenter just east of Bates Road and midway between South Ridge and Middle Ridge roads, according to an interactive map on the USGS website.
According to a magnitude scale from Michigan Tech, a magnitude 2.6 quake typically can’t be perceived by humans who are at any significant distance from the epicenter. While 61 residents near the epicenter reported to the USGS feeling the quake, no damage has been reported as of this publication’s print deadline.
This most recent quake in one of several recorded in the same general area over the past two and a half years.
The most recent was on May 25, 2025, when a 2.5 magnitude earthquake was observed near the intersection of State Route 307 and County Laine Road.
Two more were recorded on Jan. 2 and 5, 2024, at magnitude 2.4 and 2.6 each, near the intersection of Doty Road and County Line Road.
A few weeks prior, seismologists also observed a 2.3 magnitude earthquake on Dec. 6, 2023, near Bates Road and I-90.
Another set of twin quakes hit South Madison, of 2.3 and 3.6 magnitude respectively, on Aug. 24 and 27, 2023 – emanating from State Route 307 and County Line Road on the 23rd and South River Road and Stoltz Road on the 27th.
A USGS data sheet on northeast Ohio states the area is seismically active, with the relatively minor earthquakes typical of the region able to be felt at a much greater distance from the epicenter than the western U.S. due to dissimilar crust composition in a different geologic province.
According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the strongest earthquakes recorded in northeast Ohio were a moderate 4.5 magnitude quake with an epicenter in Ashtabula County on Jan. 26, 2001 and a 4.96 in Lake County, on Jan. 31, 1986.
This earthquake – with an epicenter in Leroy Township, was felt in 11 states, the District of Columbia and southern Ontario.
