WINSTON-SALEM — A 2.3 magnitude earthquake shook a portion of central North Carolina early Wednesday, the second earthquake to hit the region within a week, authorities said.
The U.S. Geological Survey confirmed a 2.3 magnitude earthquake occurred at 4:05 a.m. Wednesday in Winston-Salem, the Winston-Salem Journal reported.
On Sunday morning, a 2.4 magnitude earthquake shook Winston-Salem shortly before 9 a.m., the USGS reported. The earthquake was centered about 3 miles southwest of Winston-Salem, the agency reported.
On its website, the USGS said that since at least 1776, people living inland in North and South Carolina, and in parts of Georgia and Tennessee, have felt small earthquakes and suffered damage from infrequent larger ones.
In August 2020, a 5.1-magnitude temblor struck Sparta, the second such quake that morning. The National Weather Service in Greenville, South Carolina, said it was the largest earthquake to hit North Carolina since 1916, when a magnitude 5.5 quake occurred near Skyland.
