Minor earthquake rattles Gilmer Co., nearby areas of Tenn., NC

DUCKTOWN, Tenn. - A minor earthquake rattled the mountainous area of southeastern Tennessee, western North Carolina and northern Georgia - includng Gilmer County - on Saturday morning. No damage or injuries were immediately reported.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the 3.2-magnitude temblor happened about 11 a.m. Saturday. Its epicenter was located about 55 miles east of Chattanooga, near the town of Ducktown.

Local authorities said they received several calls about the shaking, but they had not received any reports of damage of injuries.

Becky Cearley, a dispatcher with the Polk County Sheriff's Department, described the incident as "pretty intense."

"It shook the whole entire building for what seemed like forever, but it was just a matter of seconds," she said.

A dispatcher with the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office in North Carolina, just east of the epicenter, said the office received a few calls from people wondering what had happened.

"One guy, he said it was so bad it shook his cell phone off the dresser," said Sgt. Michael Roper of the Gilmer County Sheriff's Office in northern Georgia.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2009/8/222184