SECOND EARTHQUAKE TAKES PLACE IN EASTERN TENNESSEE
WSMV reports that earlier this week, Eastern Tennessee and the nearby Kentucky border experienced a series of minor earthquakes. On Sunday, a magnitude 2.6 quake struck in Claiborne County, Tennessee, with its epicenter near Middlesboro, Kentucky, at a depth of about 23 km; few people reported feeling it, with some reports extending to areas like Campbellsville, Kentucky, but no damage occurred.
This followed a magnitude 3.1 earthquake near Lancaster, Kentucky, on December 28, 2025, which was felt more widely and described by some as resembling a vehicle crashing into a home. The next day, on January 5, a weaker magnitude 1.8 quake hit early in the morning near Maryville, Tennessee—south of Knoxville—at a depth of 18 km, with some residents reporting light shaking via the USGS “Did You Feel It?” tool, though no injuries or damage were reported.
According to Weatherboy.com, these events are typical of the Eastern Tennessee Seismic Zone, distinct from the higher-risk New Madrid Seismic Zone in western Tennessee, and align with a pattern of recent low-magnitude quakes across the eastern U.S., including in states like North Carolina, Georgia, and others; earthquakes below magnitude 2.0 are rarely felt, while significant damage generally requires magnitudes of 5.5 or higher.
