The quake originated near the small town of Greenback, Tennessee, about 30 miles southwest of Knoxville, at 9:04 am, according to the US Geological Survey.

The USGS reported the tremor had a depth of almost 25 miles, making it a shallow earthquake, which is anything less than 43 miles below ground.

Thousands of people in the area reported feeling the vibrations, most lightly, to the USGS, including in North and South Carolina and Georgia.

“First ever earthquake you could actually feel in Atlanta,” one X user posted. “Whole place shook for nearly 10 seconds. Absolutely nuts.”

“I’m outside of Atlanta and I could’ve sworn I felt a slight tremor that shook my house,” another posted just after 9 a.m.

The Knoxville Fire Department and its police department did not receive any reports of damage, the Knoxville News Sentinel reported.

There is a 23% chance that residents will feel aftershocks with magnitudes over 3 in the next week, according to officials.

Though it’s not known for major quakes, seismic activity is common in the region. The East Tennessee Seismic Zone is one of the most active earthquake areas in the southeast US and stretches from Tennessee to parts of northwestern Georgia and into northeastern Alabama.

Tennessee has seen 21 earthquakes of lesser magnitude in the last month. This year, only three have exceeded a magnitude of 3.0.

Saturday’s was only the seventh 4-plus magnitude earthquake to hit the state since 1900 and the first since a 4.4-magnitude quake hit nearby Decatur, Tennessee, in 2018, according to local reports.

Earthquakes with magnitudes of 3.5 to 5.4 are typically felt but rarely cause damage. Those over 5.5 are likely to cause some damage to buildings.

The largest earthquake in East Tennessee since 1900 was a 4.7-magnitude quake in Alcoa in 1973.

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The largest earthquake in East Tennessee since 1900 was a 4.7-magnitude quake in Alcoa in 1973.