A huge earthquake has rocked two states in the US after striking in the early hours of the morning.

Tennessee and Georgia were both hit by the large tremor measuring 4.4-magnitude that struck shortly after 4am.

Thousands of people took to social media after being woken by the powerful seismic event.

People reported their houses shaking for several seconds.

The US Geological Survey recorded the earthquake as striking near Decatur in Tennessee at a depth of 9km.

It was followed by a second tremor measuring 3.3 magnitude around 15 minutes later.

The earthquake was felt in Atalanta, Georgia, after striking in nearby Tennessee
The location of the earthquake was recorded as Decatur, Tennessee

While it isn't clear whether the earthquake caused any lasting damage, it was noticed by thousands in the two states.

One Twitter user wrote: "This earthquake in Georgia is giving me an end of days kind of feeling. This doesn’t happen in the south."

WSBTV digital producer Nicole Emmett wrote: "No, you’re not alone. We ALL felt that earthquake in the newsroom in downtown Atlanta and so did most of Georgia.

"It’s a 4.4 magnitude quake centered in Tennessee."