4.1 magnitude earthquake hits Tennessee and Georgia

A 4.1 magnitude earthquake hit Tennessee and Georgia on Saturday morning, according to the US Geological Survey. The earthquake started just outside Greenback, Tennessee, but people felt it as far away as Atlanta.

The USGS website reported that the earthquake began shortly after 9 am EDT, around 12 miles (20 kilometres) from Greenback, Tennessee — roughly 30 miles (48 kilometres) south of Knoxville.

The agency received over 23,000 public reports within the first hour after the quake. Meteorologists from TV news stations in Georgia and North Carolina also said they felt the tremors, reported Associated Press.

Earthquakes are fairly common in the region, which sits within the Eastern Tennessee seismic zone—one of the most active areas in the southeastern United States. The zone stretches across parts of Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama.