The U.S. Geological Survey is confirming a magnitude 4.0 earthquake near the Florida/Alabama line this morning.
The earthquake was centered near Mount Carmel in northern Santa Rosa County. That’s about three miles north of Jay or six miles east of Century.
NorthEscambia.com received hundreds of reports of the ground shaking and even motion of walls and other objects inside buildings from across the area. Most of the reports were in the areas of Century, Flomaton and Jay, but extended outward to Pensacola, Cantonment and Brewton. Many people reported a secondary but weaker shaking, but that has not yet been confirmed.
Escambia County Emergency Manager Eric Gilmore said Engine 519 from the Century Station of Escambia Fire Rescue surveyed the Century area but did not find any damage.
Jay High School is reporting that students are safe. The quake was felt at the school, but there were no injuries and so far no damage found.
According to the USGS, damage is not expected from a magnitude 4.0 earthquake.
It’s worth noting that the USGS will sometimes update the exact epicenter and magnitude of an earthquake as more data is analyzed.
There was a serious of earthquakes in vicinity from March 6 to April 17 in 2019 ranging from magnitude 1.8 to magnitude 2.8. In 1997, a magnitude 4.9 earthquake occurred in the area.
This story will be updated with any additional information.
In the graphic below, you can see the earthquake as recorded in real time by a seismic monitoring station in Brewton.
