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Largest Earthquake in Alabama
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Irondale, Jefferson County, Alabama
1916 10 18 22:04 UTC
Magnitude 5.10
Intensity VII
On the basis of the number of chimneys
destroyed, this earthquake was more severe
in Irondale than in any other town between
Easonville and Birmingham. At Irondale,
about 5 kilometers north of Birmingham, 14
chimneys in a two-block area were partly
destroyed, and six chimneys on a brick
store were leveled almost to the roof.
Many other chimneys either were leveled to
the roofs or were cracked so badly that
they had to be rebuilt. At Pell City, a
few bricks were dislocated from one of the
courthouse chimneys, and near Easonville,
a few chimneys were damaged lightly.
Poorly built chimneys on the eastern edge
of Birmingham were damaged heavily.
A careful study of the Red Gap fault, which
extends from near Gate City to beyond
Irondale, did not reveal direct evidence
of recent earth movement. The most
significant geologic result was the effect
of the earthquake on underground water,
particularly in Irondale. Five wells in a
one-block area of Irondale went dry
immediately after the shock, and the water
level in many others was lowered. At Pell
City, the shock lowered the water level in
one well about 50 centimeters. Several small
aftershocks occurred through October 28.
Also felt in Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky,
Mississippi, North Carolina, South
Carolina, and Tennessee.
Abridged from
Seismicity of the United States, 1568-1989 (Revised),
by Carl W. Stover and Jerry L. Coffman,
U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1527,
United States Government Printing Office, Washington: 1993.
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