By: Jacob Kessler
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jacob@thevillagereporter.com
A magnitude 2.9 earthquake shook the town of Hicksville early Sunday morning. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the quake occurred at 6:46 a.m. on Sunday, December 29th.
The quake was centered around 1 kilometer SSE of Hicksville, and was located 9.5 KM, or around 6 miles, underground. No reports of significant damage have been received at this time.
Shortly after the quake, the USGS website was showing over 160 people had gone onto the site to report that they felt the earthquake. Reports have been received New Haven, Connecticut and Antwerp, New York. The majority of reports however have come in from Hicksville, Bryan, Antwerp, Ohio, Paulding, and Fort Wayne, Indiana.
This earthquake follows the recent earthquake in Wood County that took place on April 21st, 2024. Similarly, earthquakes were also reported in Wood County on March 18th, 2024, and May 19th, 2024.
With those quakes registering lower than 2.9, the Hicksville earthquake not only becomes the first ever recorded earthquake in Defiance County, but it also becomes the strongest quake in our region in ten years.
The next highest earthquake in our region took place on June 30th, 2015, 10.5 miles Northeast of Athens, Michigan and registered as a 3.3 magnitude.
Those who felt the earthquake are encouraged to go to the USGS Did You Feel It page to assist with recording data.
