A 4.1-magnitude earthquake shook parts of the southern United States on Saturday morning, waking residents and rattling homes from Tennessee to as far away as Atlanta. While no major injuries or damage were reported, the tremor was widely felt.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the quake struck just after 9 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, about 12 miles from Greenback, Tennessee—roughly 30 miles south of Knoxville. In the hour following the quake, the USGS received over 23,000 public reports about the event, according to spokesperson Ayesha Davis.
Residents and meteorologists across Georgia and North Carolina also reported feeling the ground shake. There’s a small, 5% chance of another earthquake of magnitude 4.0 or higher occurring in the next week, the agency noted.
In Braselton, Georgia, Gabriela Reilly was cooking breakfast with her husband when their home began to tremble. “Our ceiling fan shook for around 10 seconds,” she said. “I thought it might be a low-flying plane, but my husband was sure it was an earthquake.”
In the Knoxville area, Jason Pack was still in bed when he felt the walls move and heard rumbling loud enough to wake his family—and even startle the dog. “We’re more used to tornadoes and floods here,” he said. “Earthquakes are rare.”
Pack, a retired FBI agent now working in crisis communications, said the shaking reminded him of the importance of preparedness. “Even if this was minor, it makes you think—would you know what to do if a major quake hit? Drop, cover, and hold on if you’re indoors. Stay away from buildings if you’re outside.”
Typically, earthquakes below magnitude 4 or 5 don’t cause damage, but impact can vary depending on soil type, structural design, and distance from the epicenter.
The southeastern U.S. sits on several active fault zones, including the New Madrid Seismic Zone and the East Tennessee Seismic Zone, where Saturday’s tremor originated. Davis noted that since 1950, the region within a 155-mile radius of this event has seen 15 other quakes of magnitude 4.0 or stronger. The most powerful of those was a 4.7-magnitude earthquake near Knoxville in 1973.
In December 2018, the region experienced two notable quakes: a 4.4-magnitude event centered in Decatur, Tennessee, and a 3.0-magnitude quake near Mascot. Both were felt in surrounding states like Georgia, Kentucky, and North Carolina.
Seismic energy tends to travel farther in the eastern U.S. compared to the west due to geological differences, which is why people over such a wide area can feel relatively moderate quakes.
“Earthquakes in the East are felt by more people over greater distances,” Davis explained.