Magnitude 4.3 earthquake shakes western Montana

MISSOULA — Some western Montana residents felt the earth shake Friday morning.

The U.S. Geological Survey reports an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.2 was reported at 11:51 a.m. about 13 miles southeast of Clinton.

Anne Little tells the Missoulian (http://bit.ly/sP2GzM) the tremor felt like a truck hit her house. "Just boom, and then it was gone," she said.

John Hunt, who lives north of Missoula, says he was sitting in the living room when he heard the house creaking. He says the ground seemed to be rolling from east to west.

The initial report estimated the magnitude at 3.3. Mike Stickney, director of the Earthquake Studies Office at the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology at Montana Tech in Butte, said the first number underestimated the quake's severity.