Earthquakes in Rowan County, Kentucky
The most recent earthquake of M2.5 or more near Rowan County was M 3.1, 1 km NW of Chesapeake, Ohio, 88 km (55 mi) ENE of the centre of Rowan County, at 4:39 pm EST on 16 December 2024, 13 km deep. 1,867 people reported feeling it to USGS. The estimated shaking at the centre of Rowan County was intensity II (weak), felt by some people at rest indoors. 6 smaller earthquakes have been recorded near Rowan County since.
No earthquake of M1.5 or more was recorded within 100 km (62 mi) of the centre of Rowan County in the last 24 hours.
- Last 24 hours
- 0
- Last 7 days
- 0
- Last 30 days
- 0 · since 2016, about one every 4 months
- Last 12 months
- 4 · largest M 2.4 on 16 November 2025
- Since 2016
- 37 earthquakes of M1.5 or more
- Largest since 2016
- M 3.1 on 16 December 2024, 1 km NW of Chesapeake, Ohio
Latest quake, 24 hours and 7 days: the QuakeIndex database, which reads USGS every 30 seconds, read at ; 30 days and 12 months: the QuakeIndex catalogue, counted to · earthquakes of M1.5 or more within 100 km (62 mi) of the centre of Rowan County · shaking is estimated for the centre with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses
Every earthquake in Kentucky in the last 24 hours →
Earthquakes are rare here
34 earthquakes of M1.5 or larger have been recorded within 100 km in 10 years, and most weeks have none. There have been none in the last 7 days.
With so few, a QuakeIndex score — this week as a percentile of Rowan County, Kentucky's own weeks — would only say whether anything happened at all, so none is shown. That is a statement about Rowan County, Kentucky, not about our data.
USGS catalogue · updated
If you felt one
- Was that an earthquake? — checks what was recorded near you in the last hour
- Report what you felt to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us, and they are what produces the intensity maps
- Expect aftershocks, and be ready to Drop, Cover, and Hold On if you feel one; if you are in a damaged building, go outside and move away from it (Ready.gov, FEMA; what to do during and after an earthquake)
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings or forecasts. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert and the MyShake app.
The last 30 days
Show these earthquakes on your own site: a free card with this strip and the latest quakes near Rowan County, Kentucky, for a local news site, school or neighborhood page.
Live · last 7 days
Latest earthquakes within 100 km
None within 100 km in the latest snapshot we hold; the full 7 days load from USGS as this page opens.
Source USGS · snapshot of
The last 7 days on the map
Open the full map — zoom anywhere, or find your own location →
The centre is 38.204, -83.428, the Census internal point of Rowan County, Kentucky from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Activity on this page is measured within 100 km of it — the dashed circle.
Largest on record nearby
The strongest shaking this record implies at the centre of Rowan County, Kentucky is intensity II (weak), from the M 3.0 of 2021, 56 km away. At that level a few people indoors notice it; most do not.
| Magnitude | When | Where | Shaking here (est.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| M 3.1 | 1 km NW of Chesapeake, Ohio · felt by 1,867 | II · Weak | |
| M 3.0 | 2 km E of Manchester, Ohio · felt by 420 | II · Weak | |
| M 2.9 | 2 km SE of South Shore, Kentucky · felt by 55 | II · Weak | |
| M 2.8 | 6 km ENE of Germantown, Kentucky · felt by 17 | II · Weak | |
| M 2.5 | 3 km SW of Old Washington, Kentucky · felt by 4 | II · Weak | |
| M 2.5 | 12 km WNW of Athalia, Ohio · felt by 6 | II · Weak | |
| M 2.5 | 5 km NW of Russellville, Ohio · felt by 5 | II · Weak | |
| M 2.4 | 3 km SW of Rarden, Ohio · felt by 2 | II · Weak |
From the QuakeIndex catalogue, built from the USGS FDSN event service · within 100 km of the centre above. Shaking is an estimate for the centre from magnitude, depth and distance, with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses (Atkinson & Wald, 2007), on the Modified Mercalli scale. Ground conditions change it locally; it is a description of the past, not a hazard rating.
Before 2016
The USGS record from 1900 to 2015 lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 100 km of the centre of Rowan County, Kentucky:
- 5.0 2 km SW of Sharpsburg, Kentucky · 46 km W of the centre
USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900 to 2015. Epicentres of early earthquakes are estimates. This is the record, not a forecast.
Town pages near Rowan County, Kentucky
Lexington 95 km · 4 M2.5+ named after it
Each town page lists every M1.5+ earthquake within 30 km since 2016 and the ones USGS named after it. Town names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0).
Be ready
Earthquakes cannot be predicted, here or anywhere, so the useful step is the one taken beforehand. The advice below is from the agencies responsible for it.
- Ready.gov: earthquakes (FEMA) — what to do before, during and after, including Drop, Cover, and Hold On
- Build a kit (FEMA) — water, food and supplies for several days; our summary
- USGS: preparedness — the hazard behind the advice, from the agency that records every quake on this page
- The Great ShakeOut — the yearly earthquake drill, with material for homes, schools and workplaces