The earthquake felt by many in Georgia on Wednesday wasn’t really all that unusual, experts said.
The quake, which registered as a 2.4 on the Richter Scale, originated 3 miles west-southwest of Sparta, Ga. around 9:30 p.m., according to data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
Experts said that we usually get at least one bigger earthquake each year in Georgia. Because this one happened in a more residential area, more people actually noticed it.
Georgia Tech Geophysics Professor Andrew Newman said anyone within a 30-mile radius of the epicenter could have felt ground shake. Maybe.
“If you're sitting still in a quiet room, you may feel it,” Newman said. “If you're out jogging, there's no way you're going to feel it. If you're in a car, there's no way you're going to feel it. If you're laying in your bed, it depends, you might feel it.”
Many viewers on 11Alive’s Facebook wondered if what they heard was thunder on a stormy night or the sounds of the quake. Does an earthquake make sound?
“That happens with really shallow earthquakes, if the earthquakes are a little bit deeper in the earth we don't get much noise, but if they're shallow they can pop and rumble around,” Newman said.
With all that’s happened in Georgia in the last seven days – a massive fire and Interstate bridge collapse, two days of storms and now the earthquake – some viewers wanted to know if it was somehow all related.
Newman says the bridge collapse is on us, but the storms – perhaps…
“The rainfall associated with major storm events may have some effect,” Newnan said.
Newman said we actually have about 5 earthquakes a year, especially in that area, though most are too small to feel. And about once a year, we get a larger one.
“We have on average a magnitude 3.5 every year and so it's really nothing surprising,” Newman said.
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