Earthquake!
The initial quake struck at 4:45 p.m., and registered a 3.1 magnitude on the Richter scale. The second quake occurred ten minutes later and registered only a 2.2.
The Richter scale classifies earthquakes into one of seven categories based on intensity. The first quake fell into the minor category, and the subsequent quake registered in the micro category.
Strong earthquakes occur when the magnitude falls between 6 and 6.9, major quakes range from 7 to 7.9 and any reading above 8 is considered a great quake.
Senior Spanish major Danielle Thomas spent the earlier part of the day at the lake.
“It was weird to think that an earthquake happened shortly after I left,” she said. “I didn’t know that an earthquake could even happen there until I saw it on the news the next day.”
In fact, according to USGS’s Web site earthquakes can occur anywhere but are more common along fault lines making them very rare in Central Georgia.
However, earthquakes like Saturday’s can be felt at much greater distances than those that occur along fault lines, USGS said. A magnitude 4 earthquake can often be felt as far away as 60 miles away.
The first quake’s epicenter was directly below Lake Sinclair and felt in the Milledgeville area, seven miles away.
World of Wings employee Shon Basley felt a sudden rumble.
“I didn’t know what it was,” Basley said. “Me and my mom thought it was a plane flying low.”
Other students, such as Vishel Patel, a senior information systems major, heard rumors of seismic activity but were unsure whether to believe them.
“I was at work and I heard a lady come in and say something about it, but I didn’t know if it was real,” Patel said. “I thought she was kidding.”
This was not the first earthquake to hit the area.
According to USGS, Milledgeville was struck by an earthquake on June 17, 1872. The quake reportedly was felt as a “sharp shock” and jarred brick buildings and rattled windows.
Another earthquake occurred in Haddock, Ga., about 14 miles east of Milledgeville, on March 12, 1964. USGS reported that the quake could be felt in four surrounding counties in a 400-square-mile area.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Apr 10 2009. Filed under News.
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