Alabama’s Largest Quake
From Steve Jones of alabamaquake.com….
On this date in 1916, the largest earthquake in Alabama’s history struck in the Birmingham area. According to the USGS, “On the basis of the number of chimneys destroyed, the earthquake [shaking] was more severe in Irondale than in any other Alabama town between Easonville and Birmingham.” There were no known fatalities from the magnitude 5.1 quake. Poorly built chimneys on the eastern edge of Birmingham were damaged heavily. At Irondale, 14 chimneys in a two-block area were partly destroyed, six chimneys on a brick store were leveled almost to the roof, and many other chimneys in the area were either leveled to the roofline or were cracked so badly that they had to be rebuilt entirely. Five water wells in a one-block area of Irondale went dry immediately after the earthquake, and the water level in many others was lowered. At Pell City, a few bricks were dislodged from one of the courthouse chimneys, and the earthquake shock lowered the water level in one well about 50 centimeters. Near Easonville, a few chimneys were damaged lightly.
Several small aftershocks occurred in the central Alabama area through October 28th. The earthquake was also felt in the states of Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
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