June Quakes Rattle Buford Dam: Residents Report Shaking

Several minor earthquakes occured near Buford Dam north of Atlanta during June, with hundreds of nearby residents reporting shaking effects, according to data released by the US Geological Survey (USGS).

Buford Dam, which creates Lake Lanier on the Chattahoochee River, was shaken by four earthquakes in June.Photo byUSACE Photo

The quakes occured on June 6, 7, 9 and 13. The strongest, a magnitude 2.5 at 11:15 pm on June 6, was recorded by 22 USGS stations throughout the United States, according to USGS data. More than 160 residents in Gwinett, Hall and Forsyth counties felt and reported the strongest of the quakes to USGS according to the agency's published data, some from more than 25 miles away from the quake's center.

Resident reports of the strongest quake were recorded all around the Buford Dam, including along both sides of the Chattahochee River and downriver from the dam. No damage was reported from any of the quakes.

Buford Dam, completed in 1956 and maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is a concrete and earth dam that towers 192 feet above the release point for the Chattahoochee River waters. Spanning 1,630 feet, the dam measures 1,000 feet in width at its base and narrows to 40 feet at its crest.

There are no specific earthquake ratings or tolerances for Buford Dam, according to the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Construction of the dam created Lake Sidney Lanier, which measures nearly 60 square miles in Hall, Forsyth, Dawson, Gwinnett, and Lumpkin counties. There are no specific earthquake ratings or tolerances for Buford Dam, according to the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Small dots indicate resident's earthquake reports from the June 6 quake, the strongest of the four quakes at magnitude 2.5.Photo byUSGS

Those four earthquakes near Buford dam were among a total of five quakes reported by USGS in Georgia during the month of June. According to the USGS, the following earthquakes were recorded in Georgia during June:

• 4 km NW of Buford, Georgia, Magnitude 2.2, on 2024-06-13 at 03:17:54 at a depth of 8.9 km
• 4 km NW of Buford, Georgia, Magnitude 2.3, on 2024-06-09 at 20:37:35, at a depth 2.3 km.
• 3 km N of Sugar Hill, Georgia, Magnitude 2.1, on 2024-06-07 at 01:30:13, at a depth of 8.5 km
• 4 km NW of Buford, Georgia, Magnitude 2.5, on 2024-06-06 at 23:15:06, at a depth of 4.1 km
• 4 km WSW of Tunnel Hill, Georgia, Magnitude 2.2, on 2024-06-03 at 16:49:21 at a depth of 13.7 km.