Two earthquakes, occurring two hours apart, shook Eastern Georgia on Thursday morning. According to the USGS, the earthquakes occurred within four miles of each other near Pembroke, which is located west of Savannah.
The first earthquake occurred at 3:26 a.m. from a depth of 4.5 km, while the second struck at 5:33 a.m. from a depth of 8.3 km. The first quake had a magnitude of 2.4, while the second was 2.2. People in the Pembroke-Savannah area used the USGS’s “Did you feel it?” online reporting tool to report their earthquake experiences. Because of their scale and overall weakness, there were few reports and no reports of damage or injuries.
The morning earthquakes happened in a region with a low history of seismic activity.
According to Georgia’s Emergency Management and Home Security Agency (GEMA), over 15% of the world’s earthquakes occur in locations like Georgia that lack clearly identifiable active faults. Although earthquakes are uncommon in Georgia, they have caused major damage and should be taken into account by householders. Georgia’s northwest counties, South Carolina border counties, and central and west-central Georgia counties are particularly vulnerable.
GEMA recommends that people in Georgia plan for the risk of damaging earthquakes, especially if they’re in the northern Georgia counties of Bartow, Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Fannin, Floyd, Gilmer, Gordon, Murray, Pickens, Rabun, Towns, Union, Walker, and Whitfield; the South Carolina border counties of Burke, Chatham, Columbia, Effingham, Elbert, Lincoln, Richmond, and Screven; and the central and west-central counties of Twiggs, Bibb, Jones, Baldwin, Hancock, Greene, and Putnam.
It states, “It’s important to be aware of your earthquake risk and to know how to protect yourself.” They encourage individuals to learn the essential procedures they should take before, during, and after an earthquake.
