No earthquake damage in Metro Atlanta; people online have jokes
There are plenty of alarm clocks out there, but metro Atlantans awoke to the ripples of a magnitude 4.4 earthquake this morning.
The epicenter was in east Tennessee, according to the U.S. Geological Survey and came about 4:15 a.m. This is the second-strongest on record for the area.
Officials with Cobb, DeKalb and Gwinnett counties said there was no damage reported.
Atlanta police said they have no calls for property damage. They got 12 calls about the earthquake that came into 911, but no officers were dispatched nor reports taken.
Cobb County spokesman Ross Cavitt said they only got seven calls.
“Most thought there were people shaking their doors trying to get into their homes,” Cavitt said.
But what Georgia felt is nothing compared to what fellow Americans felt 3,500 miles away a couple weeks ago.
READ | Why Atlanta felt an earthquake that struck in Tennessee
READ | How common are earthquakes in Georgia?
Anchorage, Alaska, was rocked by a magnitude 7.0 jolt on Nov. 30, followed by a series of unnerving aftershocks. The city's school district alone estimates needing $25 million to $50 million to bring the schools back to pre-quake condition, according to the Anchorage Daily News.
An Atlanta Journal-Constitution analysis of USGS data shows more than three dozen earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or greater have occurred in Georgia since 1974.
The analysis also showed that Georgia hadn’t broken 4.0 since 1984 and hadn’t gotten to 3.0 since 2009.
Inexperienced in the ways of an earthquake, people in metro Atlanta took to social media to see if they were imagining things and also to make jokes.
The “OMG earthquake” tweets came early.
Did we just have an earth quake 😬
— Emily garmon (@hey_its_emilyy) December 12, 2018
omg is it a earth quake ?
— Cynae (@Badd_Religionn) December 12, 2018
The jokes came early, too:
First a quake...what natural disaster will hit next? #babysharknado pic.twitter.com/JD5fczhySF
— Steve Gehlbach (@SteveGWSB) December 12, 2018
Was it me or was there a quake going on? Table kinda shook & even woke up the cat. pic.twitter.com/Gah0UeEdQt
— Austin McAfee (@akmcafee) December 12, 2018
For many, there was a general sense of disbelief:
Did Atlanta have an earth quake at 4 in the morning or am I crazy
— Sarah Bader (@sarah__bader) December 12, 2018
Wait, there was an earth quake in Atl? pic.twitter.com/kIZJcBQXhu
— 🌻 (@_CurlyCam) December 12, 2018
I definitely felt the quake. I thought I was dreaming
— Najah (@Espionajah) December 12, 2018
They had a whole earth quake last night. I thought I was tripping
— killakylie💸 (@Kythedoll) December 12, 2018
Did you feel it?!?!?! https://t.co/4objauKpQb
— KSU Emergency Management (@ksuoem) December 12, 2018
The quake was felt from East Cobb to Lawrenceville:
Apparently that really was an earthquake I felt early this morning. Was half-asleep and felt vibration at 4:14 that lasted a few seconds. Was a 4.4 quake centered in TN.
— Claire McCarthy (@sk8rknitr) December 12, 2018
Felt the quake in East Cobb. It woke us up.
— Justin True (@JTATL23) December 12, 2018
Some folks couldn’t believe they slept through an earthquake or were disappointed they did:
Funny how I didn’t feel any earthquakes in California , but I felt this one in Georgia 😅
— Casey Dash™ (@himfIuence) December 12, 2018
Can’t believe I slept thru my first earth quake
— Phantom of the Chakras (@CrisLaNiese) December 12, 2018
So do I like get a t-shirt that says “Survived GA quake 2018!” #GAearthquake #earthquake #goodmorning
— MJ Brown (@MJ_Brown87) December 12, 2018
Earthquake more like,
— D[ecemberween]kun (@DkunDX) December 12, 2018
I slept through the whole thing quake
now what gah damn earth quake I done missed 😭
— jaila 🥰 (@jailaseabria) December 12, 2018
Happy Hump Day fam! Completely slept through the 'Great GA Quake'. As a Cali resident for the first half of my life, kinda disappointed I didn't feel it 🤣
— J.R. Hughes (@JR_OnTheRun) December 12, 2018
i slept thru a whole earth quake im wild
— LIL NUPORT (@1btcdigital) December 12, 2018
As people awoke, the clowning continued:
This won’t hold us down y’all together we can do this !!!! Tell me who in this house know about the quake we do‼️(prince voice ) #Atlantaearthquake pic.twitter.com/Ds7dkLG3q0
— Ryan Cameron (@ryancameron) December 12, 2018
Only thing that’s rocked my world lately was that earthquake this morning 😒
— erikaellisonn (@erikaellisonn1) December 12, 2018
OK, maybe this one wasn’t a joke?
Definitely calling out after the quake
— Delo (@SultanOfSolo) December 12, 2018
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About the Authors
Ben Brasch is the reporter tasked with keeping Fulton County government accountable. The Florida native moved to Atlanta for a job with The AJC. If there's something important to you going on in Fulton, he wants to know about it. Help him better metro Atlanta by dropping a line, anonymously or otherwise.
