4.1 Magnitude Earthquake Tennessee: On Saturday morning, an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.1 happened near Greenback, Tennessee. It caused tremors in Atlanta and western North Carolina. More than 23,000 people said they felt it, but no major damage was recorded.
On Saturday morning, an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.1 hit Tennessee. It shook places as far away as Atlanta, western North Carolina, and other nearby areas. The earthquake started at 9 a.m. EDT and its epicentre was about 12 miles (20 km) south of Greenback, Tennessee, or 30 miles (48 km) south of Knoxville.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) says that the quake was felt all over the southeast US.
Massive Public Reaction as Earthquake Tremors Shake Multiple States
The USGS’s Ayesha Davis told the AP in an email that there were over 23,000 reports of shakes in the hour after the quake. Meteorologists in Georgia and North Carolina also said they felt the shaking, which is more proof that the earthquake was felt all over the area.
Risk of Aftershocks Remains High
The USGS has warned that there is a 5% chance that aftershocks of magnitude 4.0 or higher will happen in the next week. The office warns people to stay alert because there could be more earthquakes in the next few days.
Seismic History of the Area Raises Concerns
This earthquake is one of many that have happened in the area in the past few years. It includes parts of Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama. The Eastern Tennessee Seismic Zone is one of the busiest fault zones in the Southeast US.
The USGS says that earthquakes in this area are frequent and have been felt in a lot of places. Notably, there were two big earthquakes in December 2018. One was 4.4 on the Richter scale near Decatur, Tennessee, and the other was 3.0 on the Richter scale near Mascot. Parts of Georgia, Kentucky, and North Carolina felt both of them.