A 2.2 magnitude earthquake struck south of Charlotte’s airport a few hours after midnight on Monday, according to reports from the U.S. Geological Survey.
The magnitude of the earthquake was very small, according to Kenneth Taylor, state geologist for the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. The scale ranges from 2.5 or less (usually not felt) to 8.0 or greater
(major destruction near the epicenter).
“You can count to four and the entire event has already happened,” Taylor said about the earthquake, which lasted less than 10 seconds.
Typically, people report feeling earthquakes larger than about magnitude 3.0, experts say. Witness reports of light shaking came out of Charlotte, Statesville and Bristol, Tennessee, according to reports from the U.S. Geological Survey.
There were no damages reported as of Monday afternoon, Taylor said. The communications department at Charlotte Douglas International Airport said there were no disruptions or any other impacts to operations.
Since 1776, people living inland in North and South Carolina have felt small earthquakes and suffered damage from larger ones, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Moderately damaging earthquakes hit the inland Carolinas every few decades and are felt once each year or two.
McClatchy reporter Mark Price contributed to this report
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