CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Alright, who had a historic earthquake in the Carolinas on their 2020 Disaster Bingo card? Regardless, residents across the Carolinas were rudely awakened by an earthquake that measured a 5.1 on the Richter scale, which was the strongest quake to shake the Tar Heel State in over 100 years. Centered near Sparta, NC, it was only second to a quake that registered a 5.2 magnitude back in 1916. Sparta is a small town of just over 1,500 people in Alleghany County, or about 120 miles north of the Queen City. The US Geological Survey (USGS) says that the quake struck just two miles west of downtown Sparta, and was located about two miles underground. The quake could be felt as far away as Chicago, Illinois.
While there was some reported damage to roads, sidewalks, and houses, there have been no injuries nor deaths reported at this time.
Earthquakes are not commonly felt here in the Carolinas, but they also are not unheard of. Many Carolinians may remember a 5.8-magnitude quake in Virginia back in 2011 that was felt across much of the Mid-Atlantic and South. Shakes of this strength are certainly rare, but dozens of weak, unfelt shocks strike the region every year.
What is an earthquake and how do they occur?
By definition, an earthquake is a sudden release of energy in the earth’s lithosphere, or crust, which creates seismic waves that radiate out in every direction. While most earthquakes occur along fault lines, like the San Andreas Fault in California, they can occur anywhere and at any time, as shown today. They are measured on the Richter scale, ranging from magnitude 1.0 to over 9.0. The strongest earthquake on record occurred in Valdivia, Chile in 1960, measuring a staggering 9.5 on the Richter scale. Earthquakes are natural-occurring phenomena, and the USGS says that up to 500,000 earthquakes shake the planet every year. Only one-fifth of these can be felt by humans.
