A small earthquake occurred in far northwest Georgia near Dalton late Wednesday night, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The 1.9 magnitude quake was reported in Walker County near Villanow, which is less than 15 miles from Dalton and 90 miles from Atlanta.
It was reported a few minutes before midnight Wednesday night.
Earthquake levels increase by a factor of 10, so a 4.0 magnitude earthquake is actually 10 times stronger than a 3.0, and a 5.0 is 100 times stronger than a 3.0.
A 2.4 quake was registered in June near Macon, and a 2.7 earthquake was registered in early January in northeast Georgia, AJC.com previously reported.
The apparent increase of reported earthquakes isn’t a sign of anything abnormal, officials say. Instead, the reports are a reflection of better equipment for measuring seismic activity.
The National Earthquake Information Center now locates about 20,000 earthquakes each year, or approximately 55 per day. As a result of the improvements in communications and the increased interest in natural disasters, the public now learns about earthquakes more quickly than ever before.
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