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Earthquake Strikes North Carolina Near Border with Georgia and South Carolina

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Today's earthquake struck at the orange dot located inside the concentric colored circles. Image: USGS
Today’s earthquake struck at the orange dot located inside the concentric colored circles. Image: USGS

According to USGS, another earthquake has struck North Carolina near the state line with Georgia and South Carolina. The weak magnitude 1.3 event struck at 4:41 am from a depth of only 1.9 km near Wold Ridge, which is between Charlotte, North Carolina and Chattanooga, Tennessee and between Asheville, North Carolina and Gainesville, Georgia. This same area was hit by a magnitude 2.2 earthquake on July 11. There were no reports of any damage or injuries nor were any expected due to how weak it was.

While the U.S. West Coast is best known for their earthquakes, there is considerable earthquake risk elsewhere in the country. Image: USGS
While the U.S. West Coast is best known for their earthquakes, there is considerable earthquake risk elsewhere in the country. Image: USGS

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.

Earthquakes are not common in North Carolina, but they do occur, with most being small and not causing damage. While the state isn’t known for frequent or strong seismic activity, occasional tremors can be felt, and some larger earthquakes have been recorded in the past. While the mountains and foothills of western North Carolina are not located along an active tectonic plate boundary, the region still has minor earthquakes linked to old fault lines along the Appalachian Mountains.