2 small earthquakes hit western NC Wednesday

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – Two small earthquakes hit western North Carolina Wednesday morning near Sparta, marking the 19th and 20th tremors to hit the Tar Heel state this year.

A small 2.2 magnitude earthquake was reported near Sparta, North Carolina early Wednesday morning.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake happened around 1:34 a.m. and was about three miles deep. It occurred 4.4 miles south-southeast of Sparta and nearly 37 miles east-northeast of Boone.

The second earthquake was just before noon, south of Sparta in Wilkes County, NC. This second one was magnitude 2.0 and about 5 miles deep.

CBS 17 Chief Meteorologist Wes Hohenstein says “Most earthquakes recorded in the Carolinas are 2.5 or less. While there have been large earthquakes in the Carolinas in the past, the overall risk of quakes is low.”

The USGS only recorded a few people felt the earthquakes, which is normal for something that small. The earthquakes were very close to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality says there have been a few strong earthquakes in the North Carolina mountains in the last 100 years. In 1916 there was a magnitude 5.2 earthquake near Skyland, NC in Buncombe County.

More recently there was a 3.6 magnitude earthquake in June of 2022 near Elgin, SC. That was the biggest earthquake in the Carolinas since the magnitude 5.1 hit Sparta, North Carolina in August of 2020.

Hohenstein says “These small earthquakes could actually be considered aftershocks from the bigger earthquake that hit the same area in 2020. Either way, quakes this small usually aren’t felt and don’t do any damage.”

The strongest earthquake to hit the East Coast in the last century remains the 5.8 magnitude quake that hit Virginia in 2011, which caused some cracked and shifted foundations and broken walls and chimneys.

South Carolina is no stranger to seismic activity as there are many fault lines across the state. There was a magnitude 4.1 earthquake near Parkersville in February 2014.

The largest quake ever recorded on the east coast was a magnitude 7.0 earthquake near Charleston in 1886 and was felt as far away as Cuba and New York. At least 60 people were killed, and thousands of buildings were damaged. Structural damage extended hundreds of miles to cities in Alabama, Ohio, and Kentucky.

Experts suggest these earthquakes all happened along a portion of the Eastern Piedmont Fault, which runs from Alabama to Virginia.

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