In the news feeds this morning is a report of another earthquake here in East Tennessee. This time a 3.0 magnitude quake centered in Knoxville. That’s not far from us. I didn’t feel anything, but it gets me to wondering about the frequent earthquake reports I’ve been seeing: is Tennessee about to tear itself to pieces or is this normal and we just haven’t noticed it before? Let’s ask the experts.
www.Eartquaketrack.com says East Tennessee has had: (Mag. 1.5 or greater)
1 earthquake in the past 24 hours
6 earthquakes in the past 7 days
30 earthquakes in the past 30 days
328 earthquakes in the past 365 days
That seems like a lot of tremors, is that more than normal?
Paul Earle, a U.S.G.S. seismologist says, “We have not seen any statistical increase in the number of earthquakes if you look back over the tens and hundreds of years. However, unfortunately recent earthquakes have impacted populated areas, which brings them into the news, and people become more aware of the earthquakes.”
So, once again the heightened sense of impending doom is the result of increased media coverage, and the expansion of populated areas, not any actual planetary distress.
Resources:
- https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/has-the-number-of-earthquakes/25904
- https://earthquaketrack.com/p/united-states/tennessee/recent
- https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/why-are-we-having-so-many-earthquakes-has-naturally-occurring-earthquake-activity-been?qt-news_science_products=0#qt-news_science_products
