I think we just had an earthquake (Atlanta)

[VPI97]

5:00 in the morning and both my wife and I were just shaken awake. I thought it had to have been someone trying to break into the house via the basement or something (earthqake in Georgia??), so I got my trusty machete from Nepal and went looking. I find nothing, so I flip on the early morning news and they're mentioning that they're getting reports from as far east as Stone Mountain, as far north as Lake Lanier, from midtown....and as far west as where I am, Cobb county.

This is freaky.

[Schmidty]

It's either an earthquake, or Al Gore's in town doing jumping jacks.

[Buzzbee]

Naw VPI - That was just me snoring.

[Blackadar]

It's confirmed. From CNN:

Small earthquake rattles Georgia, Alabama
Tuesday, April 29, 2003 Posted: 7:14 AM EDT (1114 GMT)

The earthquake's epicenter was along the Georgia-Alabama border, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- A light earthquake measuring 4.5 magnitude rattled parts of Georgia and Alabama early Tuesday, with no reports of damage or injuries.

The epicenter of the tremor was approximately 37 miles southwest of Chattanooga, Tennessee, along the Georgia-Alabama border, according to the United States Geological Survey Web site. It struck just before 5 a.m. EDT.

The Georgia Emergency Management Agency said tremors were also being reported in the Carolinas.

"We've got power out and a few trees down," said Beverly Daniel, the acting director of Cherokee County's Emergency Management Agency in Alabama.

"It felt like an explosion. We've got aftershocks," she said.

Police in the Atlanta area said they received several calls from residents complaining of shaking and rumbles.

"My body is shaking because it was so frightening," said Susan Martin, a resident of Marietta, an Atlanta suburb.

"The shaking of my bed and the shaking of my house woke me out of a dead sleep," she said.

Martin, who lives in what she describes as a sturdy brick house, said she felt two series of rumbles.

"First, I thought it was thunder," Martin said. "My house was shaking for 10 or 15 seconds. I was quick to get up and see if it was a tornado. ... I went to the window, but heard no wind and no rain. ... I called 911 and they asked me, 'Are you calling about the earthquake?'"

[GrantDawg]

I didn't feel it, but I'm about an hour South-east of you. That is the second in about a month for North Georgia, isn't it?

[Alan T]

We used to get them from time to time when I grew up there. If I recall right, the fault line runs right through where Six Flags is. This one sounds like it was a bit bigger than most of the ones we used to get.

[Tekneek]

Originally posted by VPI97
5:00 in the morning and both my wife and I were just shaken awake. I thought it had to have been someone trying to break into the house via the basement

I must have woke up just as it ended, and I also thought what I had *heard* was someone trying to break in and had to do an inspection of the house. An hour later my wife was up and told me she heard on the news about a quake at 5. That's what it was, but your mind fills in the blanks when you awake from sleep and earthquake just wasn't going to be on that list.

[Anrhydeddu]

"My body is shaking because it was so frightening," said Susan Martin, a resident of Marietta, an Atlanta suburb.

Must not ever been to California. :)

[AgPete]

Wow! Crazy! I know cities like St. Louis that we would never consider earthquake prone are one huge fault lines and at risk of suffering the "big one" just like L.A. but I've never associated the deep south with earthquakes. Ever since going through a 7.8 earthquake, I've tried to avoid seismically active places. I always thought Georgia would be a safe place. :)

[Ryche]

South Carolina had a pretty large earthquake back in the 1886 that registered 7.6. Not common, but except for perhaps the very upper midwest, I don't think anywhere in the US is safe from large earthquakes.

[clintl]

Originally posted by Anrhydeddu
Must not ever been to California. :)

I have lived in Northern California my entire life, and there's only one earthquake I can ever remember feeling. And it wasn't the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.

[AgPete]

Originally posted by Ryche
South Carolina had a pretty large earthquake back in the 1886 that registered 7.6. Not common, but except for perhaps the very upper midwest, I don't think anywhere in the US is safe from large earthquakes.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I could have sworn that I once heard Florida was the least seismically active state. It's one of those useless trivia tidbits but I thought I heard it averaged less earthquakes in recorded history than the other 50 states.

[sabotai]

Useless information: The most powerful earthquake ever recorded in the US was in New Madrid, Missouri. It happened in 1811 and estimate that it would be an 8.0 or higher on the then not yet created Richter scale.

[Ryche]

You're right, I missed that gulf coast area. All very stable down there. Here's a good map showing earthquake hazards for the US.

<a href="http://geohazards.cr.usgs.gov/eq/"> Earthquakes</a>

[tucker342]

The biggest earthquake I've been in, was in 1989 during the A's, Giants World Series. That thing was fuckin huge.

[Craptacular]

The biggest earthquake I've ever experienced is when I farted on the leather couch.