A 5.1 magnitude earthquake shook North Carolina early Sunday morning, authorities said, creating tremors that were felt throughout multiple surrounding states.
No injuries or damage were immediately reported from the quake, which struck around 8:07 a.m. ET. Its epicenter was about 2.5 miles southeast of Sparta, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The earthquake’s size was considered moderate by the USGS, which advised that there’s a low likelihood of casualties and damage from it.
It was still the strongest earthquake to hit North Carolina since 1916, when a 5.2 magnitude quake was reported near Skyland, North Carolina, according to the USGS.
Damage to windows and chimneys were reported from that earthquake, which was also felt in South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia, Alabama, Kentucky and West Virginia, according to North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality.
There are no active fault zones in North Carolina, though the state, particularly the western part, is known to experience “relatively small, random and scattered events” according to the DEQ’s website, which notes that an area known as the Eastern Tennessee seismic zone, or earthquake zone, stretches from Tennessee through the edge of western North Carolina into northern Georgia.