Residents in Maryville started calling 911 to report they heard a series of ‘booms’ throughout the day Thursday.  The USGS reported that no earthquakes had shown up on their sensors.  More and more people called all afternoon saying they were hearing loud boom sounds.   Then last night – it was confirmed they were indeed earthquakes.  Three quakes over the span of seven hours.

The first was a 2.4 magnitude quake recorded at 12:09 p.m. a little more than a mile west-southwest of Maryville, according to the United States Geological Survey.

Two smaller tremors, each measuring 1.4 magnitude, followed at 4 p.m. and 6:45 p.m.

This is following a series of quakes over the past several months shaking the region.  East Tennessean’s are wondering why so many quakes.  Scientists are wondering the same thing.  Last week a group of scientists deployed more seismic sensors in Alabama and Florida to find out if those quakes are caused by fracking for oil in the area.

Experts say as far as earthquakes go, East Tennessee is on shaky ground.

The region experiences more seismic activity than just about anywhere else in the eastern United States, though a December 4.4 magnitude quake near Decatur was unusually intense for the area.