Early morning earthquake struck near a nuclear plant

The early morning earthquake that shook many metro Atlantans from their slumber struck about 160 miles to our north, in east Tennessee. The event’s epicenter was a couple of miles from the Watts Bar Nuclear plant, but no damage was detected at the site.

“TVA facilities are designed to withstand seismic events and were not impacted by Wednesday morning’s earthquake,” the Tennessee Valley Authority said in a statement via social media. “They continue to safely operate. Personnel are currently conducting further inspections as a precaution. Our top priority remains the safety of the public.”

In a second post the TVA included a map of the area:

The magnitude 4.4 event was felt throughout much of metro Atlanta. Although we might think of the southeastern United States as quake country, temblors are felt in a wider swath here than on the west coast.

Engineers and site personnel are conducting detailed inspections at all of our facilities in the area including nuclear plants, fossil plants, and dams as a precaution after this morning's earthquakes near Decatur, TN. All plants continue to operate safely. pic.twitter.com/NMYnyJVu6q
— Tennessee Valley Authority (@TVAnews) December 12, 2018

The town of Spring City, Tenn. near the quake’s center of activity and where the power plant is located, reported no damage:

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