Two Sunday earthquakes shake near North Carolina-Tennessee border, USGS says
Two Sunday morning earthquakes shook East Tennessee, near the border with North Carolina, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Both earthquakes were minor and hit in rural areas, USGS data shows. There was no damage or injuries reported.
The larger of the two, a 2.5 magnitude quake about 3.8 miles deep, hit at 8:30 a.m. in the Great Smoky Mountains just west of the border with North Carolina, according to the USGS.
The temblor was recorded about 27 miles southwest of Johnson City, Tennessee.
A little more than an hour before, a 1.9 magnitude quake was recorded at about 12.3 miles deep. The earthquake hit at about 7:12 a.m. Sunday about 20 miles south of Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
Small earthquakes shake eastern Tennessee regularly. Most people do not feel earthquakes with a 2.5 magnitude or less, according to the USGS.
The smaller earthquake was reported as part of the Eastern Tennessee Seismic Zone, “one of the most active earthquake areas in the Southeast,” the USGS said.
“The largest known (magnitude 4.6) occurred on April 29, 2003, near Fort Payne, Alabama,” the USGS said. “Earthquakes too small to be felt are abundant in the seismic zone, and seismographs have recorded hundreds of them in recent decades.”
The bigger earthquake was higher in the mountains, part of the USGS Inland Carolinas Region.
“Moderately damaging earthquakes strike the inland Carolinas every few decades, and smaller earthquakes are felt about once each year or two,” according to the USGS.
