A magnitude 2.5 earthquake rattled folks east of Tellico Plains Monday afternoon, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The quake was just more than 6 miles beneath the earth's surface and struck about five miles east of Tellico Plains, near Seng Garden Road around 3:22 p.m. Monday, according to USGS data.
There have been several similar earthquakes in the Chattanooga area in recent months, but the magnitude-4.4 quake that struck just a few miles east of Watts Bar Nuclear Plant at 4:14 a.m. on Dec. 12 was the strongest in nearly a half-century.
Forty-five years ago, an earthquake that struck near Maryville was slightly stronger at magnitude 4.7, according to the National Weather Service.
U.S. Geological Survey data in its 2014 map showing the level of earthquake hazard indicates an increasing hazard in Southeast Tennessee since the last study in 2008.