Earthquake in Campbell County shakes UT

An earthquake occurred in Campbell County on Monday. According to the United States Geological Survey, an earthquake with a magnitude of 3.8 mb and a reported depth of 34.8 km shook East Tennessee. The earthquake was listed to have occurred in the city of Fincastle, Tenn. and was felt in Knoxville and parts of Southeast Kentucky.

According to some UT students, there were no reports of damage but they did feel the effect of the quake.

Students who were able to feel the seismic activity reported to feel the impact around 2:30 p.m.

“I’ve only experienced an earthquake once before, so I kind of knew what was happening when I felt it. But I didn’t know what to expect. This one was definitely stronger than the one I had experienced,” Lauren Hayle, a sophomore majoring in psychology, said.

Haylees was in her dorm room at Orange Hall at the time and thought the shake was a result of nearby construction. It wasn’t until she realized her bed, desk and the ground were shaking that she grasped it was an earthquake.

Hayle said she was scared to be on the top floor due to her unpreparedness for the circumstances. She went on to mention that if things began to fall, she was unsure whether it would be appropriate to escape or hide under a desk.

“I’m glad everything turned out fine because I don’t think I was prepared at all for a disaster,” Hayle said.

UT has emergency management procedures and tips along with emergency numbers for different occasions at prepare.utk.edu. The website includes almost every emergency situation from disastrous weather to active shooters to lab incidents and more.

Edited by Christian Knox and Libby Dayhuff

Featured Image Courtesy of TNJN