According to USGS, an earthquake struck late Thursday north and east of Atlanta, prompting more than 150 people to go to their website to report that they felt shaking in Georgia. The magnitude 2.5 earthquake struck from a depth of 4.1 km near the town of Buford at 11:15 pm. While shaking was felt throughout the area, there were no reports of any damage or injuries.

According to Georgia’s Emergency Management and Home Security Agency (GEMA), approximately 15 percent of the world’s earthquakes are scattered over areas like Georgia that lack clearly defined active faults. Although earthquakes in Georgia are comparatively rare, scattered earthquakes caused significant damage and are an important consideration for homeowners. Georgia’s northwest counties, South Carolina border counties, and central and west central Georgia counties are most at risk.

GEMA recommends that people in Georgia plan for the risk of damaging earthquakes, especially if they’re in the northern Georgia counties of Bartow, Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Fannin, Floyd, Gilmer, Gordon, Murray, Pickens, Rabun, Towns, Union, Walker, and Whitfield, the South Carolina border counties of Burke, Chatham, Columbia, Effingham, Elbert, Lincoln, Richmond, and Screven, and central and west-central counties of Twiggs, Bibb, Jones, Baldwin, Hancock, Greene, Putnam, Butts, Jasper, Newton, Morgan, Walton, Harris, and Muscogee.

GEMA writes, “It’s important to be aware of your earthquake risk and to know how to protect yourself.” They encourage people to take a moment now to learn basic steps they should take before, during, and after an earthquake.