By Shaun Szkolnik
For The Tribune
TRUSSVILLE – According to The United States Geological Survey, a 4.4 magnitude earthquake, centered near Decatur, Tennessee, ripped through Tennessee and North Georgia on Dec. 12 at around 3:14 a.m.
See related: North Georgia, Tennessee hit by earthquake with 4.4 magnitude
Crack in wall discovered day of earthquake (Photo provided by Ronnie Aldrich)
The impact of the event stretched for hundreds of miles and was felt in our area.
“I live just off the interstate in Leeds in a home built in 1977,” said area resident Christy D. Jones. “Every time a semi-truck goes by on the interstate, I hear my windows rattle and shake. On this particular morning, around 3:30 a.m., I had awoken to let my puppies out. As I waited on them inside, I felt a tremor run from one side of the house to the other and the rattle in my windows was slightly different than what I was used to hearing.”
Jones had never gone through an earthquake before, but almost instinctively knew she had been through one.
“I would have easily bet everything on it being a quake, though I have never felt one before,” she said.
Later, when Jones confirmed that an earthquake had taken place, she was still a little shaken by the news.
“I was not surprised, but a little shocked at how far it had been felt,” she said.
Trussville resident Jana Mathews knew something was amiss the morning of the earthquake.
“I set my gym bag in the same spot every day,” Mathews said. “On the day of the earthquake, I set down my gym bag and noticed a large crack running up the wall.”
There was little doubt in Mathews’ mind as to what had caused the crack.
“It had not been there the day before,” Mathews said. “My first thought was, ‘this is from the earthquake,’ something must have moved to create that kind of crack.”
