A magnitude 2.1 earthquake struck the south metro Atlanta area on Thursday morning, September 17, 2026, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The event occurred at 10:05 a.m. local time and was centered in Clayton County near Forest Park and Riverdale, about 10 miles south of downtown Atlanta and roughly 2 kilometers (1.5 miles) south of Forest Park.
Minor 2.1 Earthquake Hits near Forest Park and Riverdale
Official reports place the epicenter close to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Local accounts put it even more precisely near the intersection of Ash Street and Patricia Drive in Forest Park. The quake was very shallow, at a depth of about 0.9 kilometers (0.6 miles).
Earthquakes of this size are typically felt only near the epicenter, if at all. They can produce a brief rumble similar to a heavy truck passing or a short vibration. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. USGS data indicated this was the only earthquake recorded in Georgia in the preceding three weeks.
Georgia sits far from major plate boundaries, so significant quakes are rare. Small events do occur along minor faults, and some recorded tremors in the metro area have later been reclassified as quarry blasts. A local meteorologist noted that this epicenter also sat near a quarry and that similar past events have turned out to be explosions rather than natural earthquakes. Official classification remained an earthquake in initial USGS listings.
Residents who felt shaking can submit reports through the USGS “Did You Feel It?” system, which helps refine maps of how widely such small events are noticed. For most of metro Atlanta, the morning tremor passed unnoticed.