Residents along the Alabama coast reported light shaking after a 3.5-magnitude earthquake struck in the Gulf of Mexico on Feb. 18, 2011.
The U.S. Geological Survey placed the 5:15 p.m. earthquake at approximately 30.180 degrees north latitude and 87.848 degrees west longitude. Its epicenter was less than 10 miles off the Baldwin County coast, near the end of the Fort Morgan Peninsula and the entrance to Mobile Bay.
Reports from coastal communities
People in several coastal communities said they felt the movement. A Dauphin Island resident described a home on pilings swaying for several seconds, while a resident of Orange Beach reported feeling shaking in a second-floor condominium.
The U.S. Geological Survey received 81 reports of light shaking. Orange Beach accounted for 34 of those reports and Dauphin Island for 15. Reports extended beyond the immediate coast, with people saying they felt the quake in locations as distant as Birmingham, Port Richey in Florida and Saucier in Mississippi.
What experts expected
Gene Longenecker, the Southeast Earthquake Program Manager for FEMA and a Mobile native, said small offshore earthquakes in the region generally produced light shaking rather than major damage. The event served as a reminder that the Gulf Coast can experience seismic activity even though large earthquakes are uncommon there.
Reports at the time noted that the previous earthquake in the area had occurred on March 22, 2005. That earlier event measured 3.3 in magnitude and had an epicenter in Coffeeville.
The 2011 offshore quake did not produce reports of major damage, but it gave many coastal residents an unusual firsthand experience of a geological event more often associated with other parts of the country.