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© USGS
A 3.0 magnitude earthquake reported tonight was strong enough to knock pictures off a few walls in Trussville, but police reported no structural damage.

"Some people felt the rumbling," said Lt. Paul Skaggs. "A lot of people must not have, because we only got a few calls on it."

The epicenter of the earthquake -- which was reported just before 6 p.m. -- was about three miles south of Center Point, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

There have been other earthquakes in Alabama this year: a 2.1 magnitude was reported in August in Fayette; two earthquakes -- one a 2.2, the other a 2.5 -- were detected in one week in March in Limestone County; and in February a magnitude 3.5 earthquake struck just south of Fort Morgan in south Alabama.

Today's earthquake was a few miles from the state's largest recorded earthquake, a 5.1 magnitude earthquake reported in 1916 in Irondale.

Here is the preliminary earthquake report released by the USGS after the event:

Region:
ALABAMA

Geographic coordinates:
33.591N, 86.671W

Magnitude:
3.0 M

Depth:
5 km

Universal Time (UTC):
13 Sep 2011 22:59:23

Time near the Epicenter:
13 Sep 2011 17:59:23

Location with respect to nearby cities:
5 km (3 miles) S (171 degrees) of Center Point, AL

7 km (4 miles) NNE (13 degrees) of Irondale, AL

7 km (4 miles) SSW (206 degrees) of Grayson Valley, AL

15 km (9 miles) ENE (61 degrees) of Birmingham, AL

514 km (320 miles) NE (38 degrees) of New Orleans, LA

Metro-area residents are reporting they felt the quake in cities including Springville, Trussville, Clay, Pinson, Leeds, Moody and Margaret.