A 4.1-magnitude earthquake struck near Greenback, Tennessee, on Saturday morning, sending tremors across a wide swath of the southeastern United States and triggering more than 23,000 public reports to the U.S. Geological Survey within the first hour, according to USGS spokesperson Ayesha Davis.
The quake, which occurred at 9:04 a.m. local time about 30 miles southwest of Knoxville, was felt in several surrounding states including Georgia, North Carolina, Kentucky, Alabama, and Virginia. While the shaking startled residents and disrupted weekend routines, officials reported no injuries or major damage.
"In east Tennessee, you're used to tornadoes and floods, that kind of thing," said Jason Pack, a retired FBI agent and Knoxville resident. "It's unusual to have an earthquake." Pack, now a crisis communications professional, said the tremor was enough to shake his walls and wake his family. "Even though this one was small, it's a good reminder - if it had been a big quake, would you know what to do? Drop, cover and hold on if you're inside," he said.
The Knoxville Fire and Police Departments confirmed they had received no damage reports. Mark Wilbanks, a spokesperson for the Knoxville Fire Department, said emergency crews had not been deployed in response to the incident.
Gabriela Reilly, a resident of Braselton, Georgia, was cooking breakfast when she felt the quake, according to the Guardian. "Our ceiling fan started shaking for about 10 seconds," she said. "I thought a giant aircraft had flown low right over the neighborhood, but my husband said: 'No, that was definitely an earthquake.'"
According to Davis, Saturday's quake occurred in the Eastern Tennessee Seismic Zone, one of the most active regions in the southeastern U.S. "Earthquakes in the east are felt over a much larger distance and by more people," she said, citing differences in geological structure compared with the western U.S.
Though relatively minor in magnitude, the quake raised awareness about seismic risks in the region. The Michigan Technological University classifies earthquakes in the 2.5 to 5.4 range as typically causing minor or no damage, though they are "often felt."
The USGS noted a 5% chance of a magnitude 4 or greater aftershock in the next week.
Historically, the area has experienced sporadic but notable seismic activity. Since 1950, at least 15 earthquakes of magnitude 4.0 or greater have occurred within 155 miles of Saturday's epicenter. The largest, a 4.7-magnitude quake, struck near Knoxville in 1973. More recently, a 4.4-magnitude earthquake centered in Decatur, Tennessee, rattled homes across the region in December 2018.
