A Tennessee earthquake rattles homes as far away as Atlanta

ATLANTA — A magnitude 4.1 earthquake in Tennessee woke up families and rattled homes as far away as Atlanta as it spread tremors across portions of the southern U.S. on Saturday morning. No injuries or major damages were immediately reported.

The website for the U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake hit shortly after 8 a.m. local time about 12 miles from Greenback, Tenn., roughly 30 miles south of Knoxville.

More than 23,000 reports from the public were received by USGS in the first hour after the earthquake, spokeswoman Ayesha Davis told the Associated Press in an email. Meteorologists at television news stations serving Georgia and North Carolina reported feeling the tremors as well.

There is a 5% chance of a magnitude 4 or larger aftershock in the next week, according to USGS.

Gabriela Reilly said she was making waffles with her husband when they felt their entire home shake in Braselton, Ga., northeast of Atlanta.

“Our ceiling fan started shaking for about 10 seconds,” she said. “I thought a giant aircraft had flown low right over the neighborhood, but my husband said, ‘No, that was definitely an earthquake!’”

Jason Pack was still in bed at his home outside Knoxville when he felt the walls shaking and heard a rumbling that was loud enough to wake up his family and for the dog to start barking.

“In east Tennessee, you’re used to tornadoes and floods, that kind of thing,” Pack said. “It’s unusual to have an earthquake.”

Pack has experienced tremors before, although this one is probably the strongest he’s felt in Tennessee.

“Even though this one was small, it’s a good reminder — if it had been a big quake, would you know what to do? Drop, cover, and hold on if you’re inside,” said Pack, a retired FBI agent who now works in crisis communications. “Stay clear of buildings if you’re outside.”

Damage does not usually occur from earthquakes until they reach a magnitude of somewhere above 4 or 5, according to USGS, although it depends on variables such as building construction, soil and distance from the epicenter.

The southeastern U.S. carries a significant earthquake risk, particularly around the New Madrid Seismic Zone to the west and in the East Tennessee Seismic Zone, which is where Saturday’s earthquake occurred, Davis said.

Since 1950, 15 other earthquakes of magnitude 4 or larger have occurred within 155 miles of Saturday’s earthquake, Davis said. The largest of those was a magnitude 4.7 earthquake near Knoxville in November 1973.

More recently, two tremors struck the seismic zone in December 2018. One was a magnitude 4.4 earthquake that was centered in Decatur, Tenn., south of Knoxville. It shook homes as far away as Atlanta.

Another earthquake struck a few days later with a magnitude of 3.0. Its epicenter was about two miles southeast of Mascot, near Knoxville. It also was felt in parts of Georgia, Kentucky and North Carolina.

Seismic waves from earthquakes spread more efficiently in the eastern U.S. compared with the West because of the region’s geology, Davis said.

“Earthquakes in the East are felt over a much larger distance and by more people,” she said.

Finley and Cormier write for the Associated Press and reported from Norfolk, Va., and Atlanta, respectively.