MINOR EARTHQUAKE IN JAY, FL LAST NIGHT… The U.S. Geological Survey has confirmed this morning that there was a magnitude 2.6 earthquake centered near Jay, Florida in northern Santa Rosa County last evening. The quake happened at 10:45PM CST. The epicenter of the earthquake was centered near Rose Marie Bishop Road and near Bray Mill Creek on the northwest side of Jay.
WHAT HAPPENED IN JAY… Significant damage was not reported and no injuries were reported. There were numerous reports of houses shaking, a loud sonic boom, and even some minor ground shaking according to people on the ground in Jay and Mt. Carmel.
NOTE ABOUT EARTHQUAKES… The last earthquake of this magnitude was a larger 4.9 quake that had its epicenter near Brewton in 1997. Small earthquakes like this are certainly not unprecedented, with another happening near Byrneville years ago. Minor earthquakes like this can be caused by oil and gas drilling from surrounding areas, although there is no way to definitively link the two.
This is the first time I’ve ever utilized our Earthquake Tracker in our radar software! Probably will be the last time for quite some time as earthquakes are NOT common across south Alabama and northwest Florida.