According to USGS, a pair of earthquakes struck moments apart in northwestern Georgia near the state line border with eastern Alabama. The first earthquake struck at 12:24 this afternoon; that magnitude 2.4 event struck from a depth of 9.9 km. Just 3 minutes later, at 12:27, a second earthquake struck with a magnitude of 2.0 and a depth of 10.4 km. The epicenters are about 500 feet apart from each other and struck about 1,500 feet from the Alabama/Georgia state line near Lookout Mountain Parkway and the Georgia town of Menlo.
Georgia isn’t typically known for its earthquakes, but they do happen from time to time. On June 18 last year , a magnitude 3.9 earthquake hit, triggering a bulletin from the National Weather Service’s Tsunami Warning Center. That earthquake, centered near Stillmore, was felt throughout the Atlanta metro area as well as southern and eastern Georgia near the Atlantic coast. No extensive damage was reported nor did a tsunami form. The last earthquake within 30 miles of that one with comparable intensity occurred in 2003. That 3.6 magnitude earthquake struck in Cobbtown, Georgia. Before that, there was a 3.7 magnitude event in Hixton which hit in 1976.
Generally, weak earthquakes impact Georgia from time to time with no other significant quakes occurring in the state over the last year. There has only been one other earthquake in Georgia in the last 30 days and a total of 12 earthquakes over the last 90 days. Six of those earthquakes, including the two that struck today, were rated a magnitude 2.0 or greater event. Today’s magnitude 2.4 event was the strongest to hit the state since the June 18, 2022 event.
