The U.S. Geological Survey recorded a 3.5 magnitude earthquake early Sunday morning near the town of West Canton, about 22 miles west of Asheville.
The shaking was felt at about 6:09 a.m. at a depth of 2.9 km, according to the USGS.
As of 10 a.m. Sunday, more than 400 people had filed reports saying they felt the shaking — some as far away as Asheville and Hendersonville.
It’s unclear if there was any damage. Typically, earthquakes between a magnitude of 2.5 and 5.1 can be felt and cause minor damage, according to the USGS. Earthquakes below at 2.5 magnitude are usually not felt.
Sunday's earthquake is the fifth quake to hit the West Canton area in the past two weeks. On May 23, the USGS recorded a 2.8 magnitude earthquake near the town, and on May 25, a 2.4 magnitude earthquake was recorded in the area.
Two smaller earthquakes were recorded near West Canton on May 25 on May 26.
The USGS says moderately damaging earthquakes strike the inland Carolinas every few decades, and smaller earthquakes are felt about once each year or two.
The inland Carolinas region is laced with known faults but many smaller or deeply buried faults remain undetected, and even the known faults are poorly located at earthquake depths. Accordingly, few earthquakes in the inland Carolinas can be linked to named faults.
