So I'm catching up on The Transylvania Times [1] (I'm a bit behind, and they're piling up) when I come across this rather distrubing headline: “Wednesday Morning Earthquake Felt In Transylvania [2].”
Wait … what?
Yes Virgina, an earthquake in the southeast United States [3].
I know eathquakes happen along the Pacific Coast [4] (like California, the land of Shake and Bake). I also know they happened in Missouri [5] (although rare, when it happens, it happens). But in the East? The East is supposed to be stable. Rock solid (ahem). Not shifting underneath our very feet. I am disquieted by this news.
As I fall deeper into this whole “East Coast Earthquake Zone,” it appears to be all too true. There's a fault line that runs from Alabama northeast to Newfoundland, Canada, and it runs about six miles east of Brevard [6].
I … I don't know how I feel about this. I admit, I have an irrational fear of earthquakes. I don't know why, I just do. Hurricanes? Please … don't bother me unless it's a category 4. An earthquake? Even a relatively minor 2 on the Richter scale (and this one was a 4.4)? Aieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Run away!
And the kicker in all this? This fault line has a name. It's name is the Brevard Fault [7]! No, really [8].
Now I really have no idea how I feel about this.
[1] https://www.transylvaniatimes.com/
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_of_Fire
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Madrid_Seismic_Zone
[7] http://brevardnc.com/insider/the-brevard-fault-a-geological-treat/
[8] http://atlantasupperwestside.com/Site/BrevardFaultZone.html