A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck North Carolina near the Virginia border on Sunday, shaking as far away as Tennessee and South Carolina. It is the largest earthquake to hit the state since 1916, the National Water Service said.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said the epicenter of the quake, 2.5 miles southeast of Sparta, North Carolina, was at a depth of about 2.3 miles. It struck just after 8 a.m., and could be felt throughout North Carolina, as well as in Virginia, Tennessee and South Carolina, the USGS said.
Kendra Kitler posted video on Facebook of her house shaking. “What happens, what happens,” she said as she picked up her baby.
Michael Hull told The Associated Press that he was standing in his driveway near his home in Sparta when he noticed a group of hearts running.
“Not even a minute went by and the side-to-side movement began,” Hull said. “It takes you a minute to realize what’s going on, and you just can ‘t believe it. Then it’s over. It was loud, like God shaking a mountain on you, literally.”
Karen Backer was in her Greensboro, North Carolina, apartment when she was initially missing in her roommate’s kitchen.
“No, it was the closet doors ‘sounding’ open and closed! My neighbors on the other side said they felt our apartment building shaking,” Backer told the AP. “Well, that kind of thing doesn’t surprise me in 2020, but a hurricane and an earthquake in the same week is crazy.”
.
