Eastern Regional Earthquake Risk in the U.S.
The eastern earthquake risk in the United States may not be as high as other regions, but it still exists. On August 9, 2020, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck two miles southeast of Sparta, North Carolina. It was the largest to hit the region since a 5.2 in the Great Smoky Mountains in 1916. It was strong enough to shake off items from store and home shelves, but there were no deaths or injuries reported. At least four foreshocks of magnitudes 2.1 to 2.6 occurred in the preceding 25 hours. Earthquake Risk on the East In 2011, a magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck central Virginia. It was an unexpected tremor, and the strongest to hit the eastern United States since 1897. People felt the quake from Florida to southeastern Canada, and as far west as Wisconsin. Some estimated almost a third of the U.S. population felt it. One reason it was believed to be felt over such a wide area is the underlying ground structure, where the type, age, density, and even temperature or the underlying ro...