Earthquakes are Rocking North Georgia Over the Past Week, Experts Explain the Reason Behind It

Earthquakes have shaken parts of north Georgia, United States, over the past week, according to local sources as of Tuesday, June 11. Since last Monday, June 3, several small earthquakes have been reported across the Peach State, which is not typically a seismic hotspot. Residents in the affected areas, including near Lake Lanier, have reportedly felt vibrations during the said period despite the weak tremors.

The potential earthquake swarm happening in the state is a result of seismic activity underneath north Georgia. Although earthquakes are not common in Georgia and its surrounding states across the Southeast US, they still do occur.

In light of the series of quakes in north Georgia, various experts including from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) explain the reason behind the mysterious geological phenomenon.

Georgia Earthquake Alert

The Georgia earthquake alert reported over the past week include a 2.3 magnitude tremor near the southern edge of Lake Lanier after midnight on Monday, June 10, according to the USGS. On Friday, June 7, two small earthquakes (2.5 and 2.1 magnitudes) occurred near the city of Buford. It was on June 3 when a small earthquake was detected in northwest Georgia.

According to a geophysics professor at Virginia Tech, Lake Lanier is situated near the so-called Brevard Zone. The latter was a major fault system that was once active hundreds of millions of years ago. Experts also say that small earthquakes are common in Georgia since it is also located at the center of the North American Plate, as cited by local reports.

The Georgia earthquakes resemble an earthquake swarm, which pertains to sequences of tremors that do not fit the pattern of a main identifiable earthquake followed by an aftershock, according to the USGS. These swarms can occur in hundreds or thousands for a short or prolonged period of time before or after a main earthquake.

Related cases have been reported along the California-Mexico border earlier this year.

Are US Earthquakes Common?

The movement of Tectonic plates and their interactions with each other along fault lines are the main cause of earthquakes. These potentially destructive tremors can occur outside these seismically active regions. However, quakes are more frequent and severe along Earth's Circum-Pacific belt, also called the Pacific "Ring of Fire," the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and the Alpide Belt, which stretches through the Mediterranean and Asia.

In terms of natural disasters, the US is no stranger to hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding rains, and winter storms; with earthquakes only being on the sidelines. Yet, quakes are more common in California than in other states across the continental US, mainly because the former is situated along the eastern edge of the Pacific Ring of Fire. However, US earthquakes are relatively weaker compared in other parts of the world.

In January 2024, a New Year's Day earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 struck Japan, causing structural damage and killing more than 200 people with thousands of residents evacuated. It was dubbed as the 2024 Noto earthquake. Meanwhile, in Taiwan, the country's strongest earthquake in 25 years occurred in April 2024, when a 7.4 magnitude quake struck Hualien Country, killing at least 18 people.