Bob Hatcher, a professor of geology, spoke with WBIR-TV Channel 10 about small earthquakes that have occurred lately in East Tennessee. Hatcher, who studies earthquake activity in the area, noted that “you cannot predict earthquakes and when they’re going to occur. What we usually see is several precursor earthquakes, called foreshocks.”
Hatcher, who is based in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, said the 10 recent quakes in the area are probably not foreshocks. “Those earthquakes are the kind that we see very frequently here in East Tennessee. Some people feel them, some people don’t even feel them at all.”