Two earthquakes rattled North Carolina in roughly the same place, the first striking early this morning at 1:34 am and the second striking at 11:51 am. According to USGS, the first earthquake was a magnitude 2.2 event striking from a depth of 4.2 km while the second was a magnitude 2.0 event striking at a depth of 7.7 km. They occurred three miles across from each other, one just north, the other just south, of the Blue Ridge Parkway near Route 21 and Glade Valley and Roaring Gap.
While more than a dozen people reported shaking to the USGS, there were no reports of any damage or injuries.
According to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, while North Carolina is no stranger to earthquakes, large, damaging earthquakes are rare. Large, damaging seismic events are rare and the few felt in North Carolina had epicenters outside of the state. Most quakes in North Carolina originate from the East Tennessee seismic zone to the west, the Charleston, South Carolina seismic zone to the south, or the Central Virginia seismic zone to the north. The most common and strongest earthquakes to strike the state have been in the western part along the Appalachian Mountains.
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) cautions that people in the state should be prepared for the possibility of larger quakes. “Although strong earthquakes here in North Carolina are infrequent, proper construction techniques need to be followed. An earthquake of magnitude 5 or greater could block major transportation routes in the mountains and cause structural damage elsewhere,” the DEQ writes. They add, “Many of the larger earthquakes in North Carolina occurred when the state was more rural. Recent development includes buildings and infrastructure such as road and power networks. Modern building codes take into account the possibility of an earthquake but many older buildings were not constructed to withstand violent shaking.”
