Today in History, 1975: Earthquake shakes parts of Minnesota and the Dakotas, including Fargo-Moorhead – InForum

On this day in 1975, a moderate-intensity earthquake, centered near Morris, Minnesota, shook parts of North Dakota, Minnesota, and South Dakota, startling residents but causing no major damage or injuries.

Here is the full story as it appeared in the newspaper that day:

Earth tremor was felt across a wide area including FM

An earthquake was felt at 9:56 a.m. today widely in the Fargo-Moorhead area as well as other parts of North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota, but the National Weather Service here said it had no reports of damage.

The earthquake lasted from two to five seconds, and sparked telephone reports from a wide area, said Keith Blissom of the National Meteorological Service.

The earthquake measured 5.0 on the Richter scale. “The earthquake was moderate and its epicenter was in the Morris area, Minnesota,” said the Waverly person from the National Earthquake Information Center in Denver, Colorado. “It could have caused significant damage in a densely populated area.”

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The quake was also felt by residents of northwest Iowa. Carl Stauffer of the Earthquake Information Center said the quake affected an area 300 miles long and 180 miles wide in four states. He said the exact epicenter of the quake was 10 miles west of Morris.

A person said that the earthquake that struck California’s San Fernando Valley in February 1971, killing 54 people and causing millions of dollars in property damage, had a magnitude of 6.5 on the Richter scale.

No injuries were reported, but authorities in several communities in Minnesota, North and South Dakota reported that residents were startled, buildings shook, dishes rattled and books fell from shelves. Some residents in Alberta, Minnesota, and Wheaton, Minnesota, also reported cracked foundations.

Among the first to report locally was Mrs. Paul Dot, 909 N. 27th St., Fargo, who told the weather service that pictures on the walls moved and a vase moved across the top of a television set.

Marjorie Henderson, who lives on a farm between Enderlin and Lisbon, N.D., said the house shook and windows rattled during the quake, while Wesley Belter, who lives south of Casselton, N.D., said she and four neighbors had similar experiences.

Mrs. Earl Ernst, who lives eight miles east of Wolverton, Minnesota, reported that the walls of her trailer shook and the dishes rattled.

Other reports received by the weather service at Hector Airport here were from Hankinson and Wahpeton, ND, and Breckenridge and Ottertail, MN; Millbank, SD, White Rock Dam on the South Dakota border and Canby, Minnesota.

The Associated Press reported that the quake shook much of northeastern South Dakota and parts of southeastern North Dakota and western Minnesota, but it appeared to have caused no casualties.

The strongest tremors were felt in the South Shore area, about 12 miles northeast of Watertown, said Donald Johnson, Codington County (SD) Civil Defense director.

A school on the South Shore was evacuated, but no injuries or major damage were reported, Johnson said.

A University of Minnesota professor said part of that state has a history of minor earthquakes, with about a half-dozen reported since the mid-1800s.

The tremor was felt by all residents of the Willmar, Alexandria, Morris and Long Prairie areas. It occurred around 9:55 a.m. and lasted five to 10 seconds.

No major damage was reported, although the quake startled many people and shook household furniture. Some residents in Alberta, near Morris, reported foundations cracking.

Dr. Harold Mooney, professor of geophysics at the University of Minnesota, estimated that the earthquake’s magnitude reached 4 or 4.5 on the Richter scale. Mooney’s seismograph was not working when the quake struck, and he said his own seismograph was the only measuring device in the area.

“The fault movement in the western part of the state sent seismic waves at thousands of feet per second, and that’s what people felt,” Mooney said.

“There is a history of earthquakes in that area, so this earthquake was not without precedent.”

The last, he said, was near Alexandria in 1950. The most serious was near Brainerd in 1917; This person smashed some windows and knocked things off the shelves.

Advertisement appeared in the Forum on July 9, 1975. Newspapers.com

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