On May 10 at 9:04 a.m. ET, a 4.1-magnitude earthquake struck near Greenback, about 30 miles southwest of Knoxville, Tennessee. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported the quake at a shallow depth of 15 miles. It was the strongest since a 4.4-magnitude quake hit Decatur in 2018 and the seventh quake of magnitude 4.0 or higher in East Tennessee since 1900. The largest on record remains a 4.7 quake in Alcoa in 1973. No damage was reported by Knoxville police or fire departments. However, the quake prompted precautionary inspections at TVA’s Fontana, Fort Loudon, and Tellico dams. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park temporarily closed Foothills Parkway West for inspection. Located in the East Tennessee Seismic Zone—one of the most seismically active areas in the Southeast—Knoxville has experienced 21 smaller quakes in the past 30 days. Although seismic activity is common, large quakes are rare
