The U.S. Geological Survey reports a 2.3 magnitude earthquake in Loudon County along the Little Tennessee River near Greenback.
The earthquake happened Tuesday at 3:07 p.m. and was measured at 20.0 kilometers in depth.
This is not the first time an earthquake has shaken the East Tennessee region. A 2.7 magnitude earthquake nine months ago in Blount County. Several residents felt rumbles and shakes for a few seconds at the time of the earthquake in October.
Small earthquakes are common in this area. The USGS reports 72 earthquakes in the East Tennessee region in the past year. In several instances these earthquakes are too small to physically detect.
This region is part of the Eastern Tennessee Seismic Zone which stretches across Tennessee, northwestern Georgia and northeastern Alabama. While this zone is the most active in the Southeast United States, damage rarely results from these earthquakes.
