4.1-Magnitude Earthquake Rattles Knoxville and Surrounding Areas

A 4.1-magnitude earthquake jolted Knoxville and its surrounding areas in East Tennessee at precisely 9:04 a.m. ET on May 10, as reported by the U.S. Geological Survey.

The tremor’s epicenter was located near Greenback, Tennessee, roughly 30 miles southwest of Knoxville, according to the USGS. The center of the earthquake was pinpointed about 12.4 miles southeast of Greenback, occurring at a depth of 15 miles. This depth classifies it as a relatively shallow quake.

This seismic event marks the seventh earthquake in the region measuring 4.0 or higher since 1900, following the previous notable 4.4-magnitude quake that struck Decatur in 2018. The record-holder for the largest earthquake in East Tennessee since 1900 remains the 4.7-magnitude quake that hit Alcoa in 1973.

Fortunately, there have been no damage reports, according to Knoxville Fire Department spokesperson Mark Wilbanks, and the Knoxville Police Department also confirmed a similar lack of incident reports.

Such an occurrence is not entirely unexpected for the area. In the past 30 days alone, Tennessee has experienced 21 earthquakes of smaller magnitudes. Over the past year, USGS data reveals only three other events in Tennessee exceeded a 3.0 magnitude.

Reports of the tremor have poured in, stretching as far as Asheville, North Carolina, indicating the quake’s wide-reaching impact.

This activity is not uncommon for Knoxville, which lies within the East Tennessee Seismic Zone, a notably active earthquake region in the Southeast United States. This zone spans parts of Tennessee, stretches into northwestern Georgia, and touches northeastern Alabama. Though massive quakes are rare here, moderate seismic activity is not unusual.