Earthquake rattles Warren County
An earthquake of rarely seen magnitude for this area hit in the pre-dawn hours Tuesday with its effects being felt in Warren County.
The quake, measuring 4.9 at its epicenter near Ft. Payne, Ala., caused some minor structural damage in the northeast Alabama town, cracking some foundations, tumbling wall decorations and causing power outages. Ft. Payne is just south of the Tennessee line.
The quake, which occurred around 4 a.m., was centered near a stretch of Highway 59 that crosses from northeast Alabama into the northwest tip of Georgia just south of Chattanooga. The plates which form the fault run in a diagonal line, almost along the path of Highway 59.
A pre-shock was recorded around noon Monday when a 2.0 tremor was felt in northern Alabama. Prior to that time, the last significant tremor on the fault was felt in Huntsville, Ala., in 2001 when a 3.9 quake was recorded.
“This is a reminder more than anything else that the Southeast Tennessee seismic zone is active,” said Georgia Tech seismologist Tim Long.
The effects of the quake were felt in a seven-state area, ranging as far north as Indiana, and were felt by many in Warren County. A number of local residents were shaken awake by the tremor which was centered about two hours away by car.
“It woke us out of bed,” said Regina Myers of the Emergency Management Agency. “We first thought it was a bad storm that was about to topple a tree on our house but once we got awake, we realized it was no storm, but an earthquake. It just lasted a few seconds.”
Myers said there have been no reports of damage in Warren County.
Richard Wooley of the Pleasant Hill community said he was awoken by his shaking bed and the rattling. He at first feared we may be under a terrorist attack.
“Thoughts crossing my mind were a possible earthquake and unfortunately the possibility of terrorism,” Wooley said. “If not an earthquake, I wondered if a large explosion somewhere would produce the same result.”
For the household of West Elementary second-grader Marcus Vaughn, the first thoughts were less sinister.
“It woke me up,” Vaughn said. “My twin brother Trevor thought I was shaking our bunk beds, but it wasn’t me. I didn’t know what it was. I wasn’t scared though.”
E-911 Director Brandon Gable said 69 calls pertaining to the earthquake were fielded by dispatch operators within 15 minutes of the quake.
“It was waking people out of a sound sleep,” Gable said. “People had no idea what was going on and were calling to see what had happened.”
Gable said no one reported damage or injuries, aside from items being shaken off their walls.
“A lot of people were frightened by what had happened,” Gable said.
Hasko Wise, who lives on Crim Road near Falcon Manor, said the quake made his whole house “thump.” But he said it was nothing compared to a 6.5 quake he experienced while living in California in 1971.
“I was in a five-story apartment building on the third floor,” said Wise. “It had me bouncing on my bed like a fish jumping out of water. It cracked the walls. We were fortunate the building didn’t collapse. Probably the scariest part was we heard this very deep, low rumble.”
The quake has re-kindled awareness of the threat of earthquakes in the Midsouth. Just 10 years ago, awareness was raised from another fault which lies near Tennessee when tremors were felt around the New Madrid fault in Missouri. The fault lies on a line near Memphis and has a history of catastrophic earthquakes dating back a major event in the 19th Century when a quake was strong enough to make the waters of the Mississippi River run backwards.
Experts agree a repeat of such a New Madrid earthquake would have catastrophic effects, possibly even causing significant damage in Middle Tennessee. The Highway 59 fault, although less publicized, has been known to routinely show itself, registering a similar 4.9 quake in 1997.