Kentucky Officials to Install More Quake Monitors

Experts with the Kentucky Geological Survey are beefing up their system for measuring earthquakes, particularly in eastern Kentucky.

Currently, the commonwealth has some 30 monitoring stations, many of them in far western Kentucky near the New Madrid Fault. But state Geologist Jim Cobb says more data would be useful.

“We need to install more strong motion stations so we’d capture all of the data. Particularly, strong motion stations are used for engineering purposes to help with the design of structures, the design of buildings. We need that kind of information,” he said.

The KGS hopes to open an earthquake monitoring station soon in Hazard. Just last Saturday, a 4.3 magnitude quake was centered nearby, just outside Whitesburg.