Earthquake activity continues in portions of the eastern United States and Puerto Rico; according to USGS, one relatively weak earthquake struck eastern Georgia on Monday afternoon while 20 of varying magnitudes struck in and around Puerto Rico yesterday through this morning. There have been no reports of any damage or injuries in any location and the earthquakes around Puerto Rico have been too weak to generate a tsunami threat for the U.S. East Coast, Bahamas, and Caribbean.

Yesterday’s earthquake in Georgia struck near the town of Stillmore which is half-way between Macon and Savannah in the eastern part of the state. According to USGS, the magnitude 2.1 earthquake struck from a depth of 6.5 km at 4:43 pm in the afternoon. USGS says this was the first earthquake to strike in this region in the last three weeks.  The next closest earthquake was on March 19  near Irmo , South Carolina where an earthquake swarm has struck near a dam there.

According to USGS, earthquakes with a magnitude of 2.0 or less are rarely felt or heard by people, but once they exceed 2.0 , more and more people can feel them. While damage is possible with magnitude 3.0 events or greater, significant damage and casualties usually don’t occur until the magnitude of a seismic event rises to a 5.5 or greater rated event.

Meanwhile, there have been many more earthquakes in and around Puerto Rico in the last 24 hours; USGS says the earthquakes there range in intensity from a magnitude 1.8 to a stronger 5.0.

A few of these earthquakes aren’t far from the epicenter of a  strong earthquake that hit  in January 2020. That 6.4 created extensive damage in Puerto Rico, including widespread power failures across much of the island.  An earthquake swarm started here in December 2019 and unrest has continued since.

These earthquakes are occurring near  the northern edge of the Caribbean Plate, a mostly oceanic tectonic plate underlying Central America and the Caribbean Sea off of the north coast of South America.  The Caribbean Plate borders the North American Plate, the South American Plate, the Nazca Plate, and the Cocos Plate. The borders of these plates are home to ongoing seismic activity, including frequent earthquakes, occasional tsunamis, and sometimes even volcanic eruptions.

USGS continues to monitor earthquake activity in and around Puerto Rico while the National Weather Service Tsunami Warning Center is keeping an eye on any tsunami threats.