5.1 magnitude earthquake felt in Carolinas, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia

A 5.1 magnitude earthquake was felt in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia on Sunday morning, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported. 

The earthquake, which struck along the North Carolina-Virginia border near Sparta, N.C., at approximately 8:07 a.m., was the strongest to hit North Carolina in 94 years. 

The USGS reported that the quake was felt as far north as Staunton, Va., and as far south as Augusta, Ga. 

Did You Feel It??? According to the USGS, North Carolina just experienced a 5.1 magnitude earthquake with the epicenter at 2 km SSE of Sparta, North Carolina. For more info click here https://t.co/cq5bMmUcJD pic.twitter.com/pzAt8tvuRP

— NWS Raleigh (@NWSRaleigh) August 9, 2020

Houses reportedly shook for four or five seconds, leading to chimneys losing bricks and broken dishes, according to social media posts and The Weather Channel. Roads also cracked.

The USGS warned people in the Southeastern states to be aware of a “possibility of aftershocks especially when in or around vulnerable structures such as unreinforced masonry buildings.”

Earthquake Damage: Images from Chestnut Grove Church Road, Sparta, NC pic.twitter.com/5pGd1HrQrZ

— Chad Tucker (@ChadTucker) August 9, 2020

Earthquake damage from Sparta. pic.twitter.com/2L2vT8wk9g

— Chad Tucker (@ChadTucker) August 9, 2020

The earthquake was the sixth in the area in slightly more than 24 hours, after several foreshocks, with the second-largest occurring about two miles south of Sparta and reaching a 2.6 magnitude. 

The quake was the highest magnitude to hit North Carolina since 1926, when Mitchell County in the western part of the state experienced a 5.2 magnitude earthquake.