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2nd earthquake in a week recorded in the Charlotte area, USGS reports Wednesday

A second 2 magnitude or greater earthquake in a week registered northwest of Charlotte in Catawba County early Wednesday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The 2 magnitude earthquake struck at 6:58 a.m., 1.86 miles east, southeast of the town of Catawba, the USGS reported.

The quake had a depth of about 100 yards, or 0.1 kilometers, seismologists said.

Two people reported feeling the quake, according to the USGS.

Catawba is about 50 miles northwest of uptown Charlotte, along the Catawba River. It has about 600 residents.

Eight people felt previous quake

At 12:41 a.m. Wednesday, May 11, a 2.2 earthquake registered near the same spot as this week’s quake.

Eight people reported feeling the May 11 shaking, including one person in south Charlotte, The Charlotte Observer previously reported, citing USGS site data.

The May 18 quake is at least the third reported in that part of Catawba County since February 2021, when a 1.6 magnitude one rumbled at 8 a.m. Five people reported feeling that tremor, which has a depth of about 100 yards, 0.1 kilometers, the USGS reported.

When you’ll feel a quake

“The magnitude, location, and depth of an earthquake, and overlying soil conditions determine how widely and strongly any particular event can be felt,” the USGS says. “Typically, people report feeling earthquakes larger than about magnitude 3.0.”

Though major earthquakes are rare in North Carolina, seismic events can happen at any time of the year.

Sparta, North Carolina, experienced a 5.1 earthquake Aug. 9, 2020, that researchers recently discovered left a “rupture” in the ground more than 1.5 miles long, the Observer reported in April.