CANTON, N.C. — An earthquake was reported Thursday in Canton, which is in western North Carolina in Haywood County near Asheville.
The 2.4 magnitude earthquake happened at 6:27 p.m. Thursday, according to the United States Geological Survey.
There have been multiple earthquakes reported in North Carolina this month.
On May 12, a 2.1 magnitude earthquake was reported in Pineville, and on May 14, a 1.9 earthquake was reported in Cherokee County close to the NC-Tennessee state line, according to the USGS. Most recently, on May 23, a 2.6 magnitude earthquake was reported in Haywood County as well.
While the cause of this quake is not officially known, earthquakes can occur by the moving of plates within the Earth.
“Eventually, you get to the point when material rock can’t take it anymore. And as a result, fails," South Carolina Geologist Scott Howard previously told Meteorologist KJ Jacobs for a WCNC Charlotte Weather IQ.
Other quakes are caused by humans. They're known as induced quakes and could be the result of tunnel construction and fracking projects.
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