The U.S. Geological Survey confirmed a 2.7 magnitude earthquake occurred in Henderson County a little before 10:30 p.m. Wednesday night. No damage was reported, but many residents heard and felt it.
Laurel Park residents Syd Chipman and Janet Marshall shared their experiences near the center of the quake. Chipman said he was upstairs in the loft when he heard a loud, rumbling noise and felt the house shake.
Marshall, who was in the kitchen below the loft, thought Chipman had fallen at first, but quickly realized a fall wouldn't cause the boom she heard and cause the whole house to shake.
Dr. Jackie Langille, a geologist and Associate Professor at UNC Asheville, says, "large earthquakes in this area are very rare. We rarely have earthquakes greater than a magnitude 3.5 to 4 and those are the ones that start to cause damage."
However, Dr. Langille says smaller earthquakes "are actually quite common" in Western North Carolina.
In this same spot at around the same time last year, a 2.3 quake was measured. Like last night, many reported the loud boom noise along with the shaking. Dr. Langille says that is because these quakes are often shallow. She says we are actually hearing rocks beneath us breaking and moving against one another. She says, "a whole bunch of the Earth's crust is moving around, so that initial breaking could be the boom that people are hearing."
The U.S. Geological Society reports that six earthquakes at magnitude 2.5 or higher have occurred within 20 miles of this center since 1981. There have been 32 earthquakes magnitude 1 or higher within 20 miles of this spot since 1983.
Dr. Langille says there is a lot of speculation that one of two things is causing the cluster in this location.
While they are rare, she says it is always a good idea to know what to do if a stronger earthquake shakes your area.