North Carolina communities felt an earthquake on Aug. 9 and aftershocks earlier in the week. | Stock Photo
North Carolina communities felt an earthquake on Aug. 9 and aftershocks earlier in the week. | Stock Photo
Aftershocks continued to rattle the dishes earlier this week after a 5.1 magnitude earthquake struck the Charlotte area on Aug. 9, one of the biggest quakes ever to rock the state.
The quake also shook residents in the town of Sparta, WBTV 3 reported on Aug. 10. At least five aftershocks followed from Aug. 9 to Aug. 10, measuring from 1.8 to 2.2 on the Richter Scale.
Smaller earthquakes had been recorded on Aug. 8, before the big Sunday shaker. Those measured from 1.8 to 2.6.
Thousands of residents felt the earthquake in Southwestern North Carolina when the quake began at about 8:07 a.m in the morning.
According to the U.S. Geologic Survey, the epicenter of the earthquake was located 36.8 miles from Boon, and 46.1 miles from Lenoir.
Sunday’s quake might have tied the record for what previously had been the biggest earthquake recorded in North Carolina, a 5.2 earthquake in 1916. That quake, recorded by less sophisticated measuring instruments than available today, centered near the town of Skyland in Buncombe County.
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