WEATHER BLOG: Earthquake shakes Dalton, USGS reports | News

DALTON, Ga. -- A magnitude 2.7 earthquake shook the ground and buildings in Dalton late Wednesday morning, the United States Geological Service reported on its website.

The earthquake happened at 11:44 a.m.  Its epicenter was one mile West, Southwest of Dalton, the USGS said.

The earthquake occured five miles beneath the surface, Julian Gray, a Curator at the Tellus Science Museum said.

"These relatively small earthquakes are not that rare, but they are exciting when they do occur," Gray said. "This area has periodic (every 5-10 years) minor earthquakes such as the one that struck Dalton."

People in Dalton were tweeting late Wednesday morning about a shaking and rumbling in the ground.

"Not sure if that was a short earthquake or a sonic boom, but just felt about 6 seconds worth of intense building shaking here in Dalton," @jbneil said on Twitter.

"Whitfield and Catoosa County residents at work or home felt the Earth and structures move just before noon on Wednesday, and Whitfield 911 reported the rumbling was initially thought to be an earthquake," the Dalton Daily Citizen reported.

The Whitfield County sheriff's office and emergency management officials say they've received no reports of damage or injuries.