USGS: 4.4 earthquake felt in Georgia, Tennessee, Carolinas

A 4.4 earthquake in Tennessee could be felt all the way in North Georgia and portions of the Carolinas early Wednesday morning.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, it happened around 4:14 a.m. It was centered about 7 miles north-northeast of Decatur, Tennessee.

The center of the quake was about 128 miles north-northwest of Atlanta and about 220 miles west of Charlotte, NC.

A 3.3 followed about 13 minutes later, according to the USGS, but likely wasn’t felt in Georgia. It was also less deep than the first quake.

A seismograph maintained by Georgia Tech picked up the quake in North Georgia.

There were no immediate reports of major damage.

The area is part of the Eastern Tennessee Seismic Zone, stretching from northeastern Alabama to southwestern Virginia. It’s the second-most active seismic zone in the central and eastern US, behind the New Madrid zone in the Mississippi River region, according to the Seismological Society of America.

Wednesday’s 4.4-magnitude quake is the strongest of 799 recorded in the central US in the last six months, according to a list compiled by the University of Memphis’ Center for Earthquake Research and Information.

—

FOX 5 Atlanta and CNN Newssource contributed to this report.