Historic Earthquakes
Near Waynesville, North Carolina
1916 02 21 23:39 UTC
Magnitude 5.20
Intensity VII
Largest Earthquake in North Carolina
Tops of chimneys were thrown to the ground; windowpanes were broken in many houses; and people rushed into the streets at Waynesville. At Sevierville, Tennessee about 70 kilometers northwest of Waynesville, bricks were shaken from chimneys. In Wear's Cove, about 16 kilometers southwest of Sevierville, the flow of water in springs increased and in places water became muddy. Minor damage was reported in eastern Tennessee at Athens, Knoxville, Maryville, Morristown, and Newport, Tennessee; at Tryon, North Carolina; and at Bristol, Virginia. Also reported felt in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, and West Virginia.
Abridged from Seismicity of the United States, 1568-1989 (Revised), by Carl W. Stover and Jerry L. Coffman, U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1527, United States Government Printing Office, Washington: 1993.
