SHAKE OF THE CENTURY
North Carolina earthquake at magnitude 5.1 is biggest in 104 YEARS
AN EARTHQUAKE was felt in North Carolina on Sunday morning — the largest quake to hit the area in more than 100 years.
a 5.1-magnitude struck the state, located on the , at 8.07 local time.
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The earthquake's epicenter was roughly 2.5 miles from Sparta, near the state's northern border with and western border with .
No damage was immediately reported.
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According to the USGS, the last 5.1-magnitude tremor to hit the state was in 1916 — 104 years ago.
"Since at least 1776, people living inland in North and , and in adjacent parts of and Tennessee, have felt small earthquakes and suffered damage from infrequent larger ones."
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Experts say that "moderately damaging earthquakes" hit inland every few decades, while smaller quakes come every one to two years.
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Earthquakes that hit in the central and eastern areas of the US "are typically felt over a much broader region," the USGS's website states.
On Sunday, people in cities across North Carolina, including Charlotte and Raleigh — and states including South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee — reported feeling the earthquake.
"East of the Rockies, an earthquake can be felt over an area as much as ten times larger than a similar magnitude earthquake on the West Coast."
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