Earthquake rattles East Tennessee, no reports of being felt in Dickenson
(CLINTWOOD) - You either felt it, thought you felt it or didn’t feel it all.
We’re talking about the 4.1 magnitude earthquake felt across most of East Tennessee this morning that occured around 9:04 AM with an epicenter 15.5 miles beneath the surface near Greenback, TN.
Residents felt the initial quake or it was captured on security camera. The quake was a strong one for area but not necessarily the strongest one felt in East Tennessee according to the history books. That honor goes to a quake near Alcoa in 1973. That quake measured 4.7 magnitude.
Coincidentally, I just visited the Greenback/Vonore/Loudoun County area several weeks ago getting video footage for some episodes of the podcast I co-host entitled “Stories of Appalachia”. As for feeling the quake here in Dickenson County, no, I didn’t feel anything this morning but relatives I have in Knoxville and Canton, NC felt it very strongly while a Facebook friend in Atlanta said he felt the quake there.
Currently, there are no reports of widespread damage but some have reported some broken lightshades but nothing major has been reported to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office.
The quake was strong enough to force Dollywood to shut down all rides until emergency inspections are concluded in the park. Even the University of Tennessee was not immune as officials were inspecting buildings on campus including the Food City Center at Thompson Boling Arena, which was scheduled for commencement exercises today.
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park reported no damage inside the park as Foothills Parkway was closed for inspection following the earthquake. Officials say they have completed initial checks of bridges, tunnels and roadways and have not found any apparent damage.
The National Weather Service is giving about a 23% chance of aftershocks following this morning’s event.
According to Cassie Nall, meteorologist with WBIR in Knoxville, the quake likely occurred along an “ancient fault line”, a sometimes-forgotten fault as the Appalachian Mountains are the world’s oldest mountain range. Nall added that some regions would have felt the quake with much more intensity because of the density of the strata.
The US Geological Survey, National Weather Service and other state and regional agencies will continue to monitor the situation.
