LEXINGTON, Ky. — Over the weekend, many Kentuckians might have felt the ground rattle. Two earthquakes were felt in the commonwealth, including one originating not too far from Lexington in Garrard County.

What You Need To Know

  • Two earthquakes in less than 24 hours were felt by Kentuckians 

  • On Saturday, May 10, a 4.1 magnitude earthquake struck in eastern Tennessee south of Knoxville 

  • In the early morning hours of Sunday, May 11, a 2.8 magnitude earthquake struck 9 miles south of Nicholasville in Garrad County 

  • Earthquakes originating in Kentucky aren’t all that common

In the early morning hours of Sunday, May 11, a 2.8 magnitude earthquake rattled central Kentucky, 9 miles south of Nicholasville.

Seth Carpenter, a seismologist at the University of Kentucky, said it marked a rare seismic event for the region.

“That area has experienced earthquakes in the past. In fact, our historical catalog shows this was the third event that has ever been recorded there,” Carpenter said.

It was the second earthquake in less than 24 hours felt by Kentucky. Saturday, May 10, a 4.1 magnitude earthquake struck near Knoxville, Tennessee and was felt by people in Georgia, North Carolina and Kentucky.

“In a region that we call the Eastern Tennessee Seismic Zone and it’s a region of enhanced earthquake activity; it’s one of the most active seismic zones in the central-eastern United States. They have on average an earthquake of this size about every five years,” Carpenter said.

Carpenter said seismic activity originating in central Kentucky is rare, but feeling seismic activity from surrounding areas is common.

“In this part of the world, earthquake waves or seismic waves travel very efficiently and so they’re felt for a given magnitude earthquake much farther away than they would in California,” Carpenter said.

Carpenter studies where, how and why earthquakes happen and the lasting effects they can have.

“I study the earthquake from the source from where the earth broke to make the seismic waves, all the way along its wave path to my seismic stations where I look at the local effects of geology and how it changes those waves and can effect engineering projects,” Carpenter said.

Carpenter said Sunday’s earthquake near Nicholasville was too low in magnitude to present any noticeable damage, if any at all.

Portions of the Eastern Tennessee Seismic Zone and New Madrid Seismic Zone are in the Commonwealth.

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