A Magnitude 5.1 Earthquake has struck near Sparta, North Carolina this morning at 8:07am and the shockwave arrived at 8:09am. Many people in the region, including over a dozen people in Macon County have reported feeling the quake.
If you felt this quake, you can report it to the USGS. [LINK]
It is not quite as big as the one that hit in the region in 2011 in Virginia. It was a 5.8 Magnitude quake. [LINK] This is the third most powerful quake to hit the east coast region since 1944.
Here is the Helicorder reading of the quake as measured at Lake Jocassee in South Carolina.
**9:39am update**
The USGS has warned there may be aftershocks related to this quake. Here is their forecast:
Be ready for more earthquakes
More earthquakes than usual (called aftershocks) will continue to occur near the mainshock.
When there are more earthquakes, the chance of a large earthquake is greater which means that the chance of damage is greater.
The USGS advises everyone to be aware of the possibility of aftershocks, especially when in or around vulnerable structures such as unreinforced masonry buildings.
This earthquake could be part of a sequence. An earthquake sequence may have larger and potentially damaging earthquakes in the future, so remember to: Drop, Cover, and Hold on.
What we think will happen next
According to our forecast, over the next 1 Week there is a 4 % chance of one or more aftershocks that are larger than magnitude 5.1. It is likely that there will be smaller earthquakes over the next 1 Week, with 0 to 57 magnitude 3 or higher aftershocks. Magnitude 3 and above are large enough to be felt near the epicenter. The number of aftershocks will drop off over time, but a large aftershock can increase the numbers again, temporarily.
More details about the earthquake forecast are provided in the section “Our detailed aftershock forecast” below.
About this earthquake and related aftershocks
So far in this sequence there have been 0 magnitude 3 or higher earthquakes, which are strong enough to be felt, and 0 magnitude 5 or higher earthquakes, which are large enough to do damage.
Our detailed aftershock forecast
The USGS estimates the chance of more aftershocks as follows: Within the next 1 Week until 2020-08-16 13:00:00 (UTC):
The chance of an earthquake of magnitude 3 or higher is 57 %, and it is most likely that as few as 0 or as many as 57 such earthquakes may occur in the case that the sequence is re-invigorated by a larger aftershock.
The chance of an earthquake of magnitude 5 or higher is 5 %, and it is most likely that as few as 0 or as many as 2 such earthquakes may occur.
The chance of an earthquake of magnitude 6 or higher is 1 in 200, such an earthquake is possible but with a low probability.
The chance of an earthquake of magnitude 7 or higher is 1 in 2,000, such an earthquake is possible but with a low probability.
About our earthquake forecasts
No one can predict the exact time or place of any earthquake, including aftershocks. Our earthquake forecasts give us an understanding of the chances of having more earthquakes within a given time period in the affected area. We calculate this earthquake forecast using a statistical analysis based on past earthquakes.
Our forecast changes as time passes due to decline in the frequency of aftershocks, larger aftershocks that may trigger further earthquakes, and changes in forecast modeling based on the data collected for this earthquake sequence.
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Published at 9:27am on Sunday, August 9, 2020
Edited at 9:39am to include forecast.
Other minor grammatical errors in the initial article have been edited.
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1 comments :
I felt it! 8:09 am
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