Earthquakes in West Virginia
The most recent earthquake of M2.5 or more in West Virginia was M 2.8, 3 km SE of Welch, West Virginia, at 3:54 pm EDT on 21 August 2019. 8 smaller earthquakes have been recorded in West Virginia since.
No earthquake of M1.5 or more was recorded in West Virginia in the last 24 hours.
- Last 24 hours
- 0
- Last 7 days
- 0
- Last 30 days
- 1 · since 2016, about one every 8 months
- Last 12 months
- 2 · largest M 2.5 on 20 April 2026
- Since 2016
- 17 earthquakes of M1.5 or more
- Largest since 2016
- M 3.7 on 18 July 2016, 11 km NNW of Richlands, Virginia
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 in West Virginia, where USGS names the state in the location
Earthquakes are rare here
116 earthquakes of M1.5 or larger have been recorded in West Virginia 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 West Virginia's own weeks — would only say whether anything happened at all, so none is shown. That is a statement about West Virginia, 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 in West Virginia, for a local news site, school or neighborhood page.
Live · last 7 days
Latest earthquakes in West Virginia
None in West Virginia 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 →
Largest on record in and around West Virginia
| Magnitude | When | Where |
|---|---|---|
| M 3.7 | 11 km NNW of Richlands, Virginia | |
| M 3.4 | 9 km N of Blain, Pennsylvania | |
| M 3.4 | 1 km S of McArthur, Ohio | |
| M 3.4 | 1 km WNW of Batesville, Ohio | |
| M 3.2 | 11 km NE of Peterstown, West Virginia | |
| M 3.1 | 1 km NW of Chesapeake, Ohio | |
| M 3.1 | Tennessee-Virginia border region | |
| M 3.1 | 2 km NNW of Oak Hill, Ohio |
From the QuakeIndex catalogue, built from the USGS FDSN event service · inside a rectangle drawn around West Virginia, which takes in some ground over its borders.
Before 2016: the largest in West Virginia since 1900
The USGS record from 1900 to 2015 lists no earthquake of M5 or more in West Virginia.
USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900 to 2015, each epicentre counted for the state whose nearest county it is. Epicentres of early earthquakes are estimates. This is the record, not a forecast.
Counties in West Virginia
- Barbour County
- Berkeley County
- Boone County
- Braxton County
- Brooke County
- Cabell County
- Calhoun County
- Clay County
- Doddridge County
- Fayette County
- Gilmer County
- Grant County
- Greenbrier County
- Hampshire County
- Hancock County
- Hardy County
- Harrison County
- Jackson County
- Jefferson County
- Kanawha County
- Lewis County
- Lincoln County
- Logan County
- Marion County
- Marshall County
- Mason County
- McDowell County
- Mercer County
- Mineral County
- Mingo County
- Monongalia County
- Monroe County
- Morgan County
- Nicholas County
- Ohio County
- Pendleton County
- Pleasants County
- Pocahontas County
- Preston County
- Putnam County
- Raleigh County
- Randolph County
- Ritchie County
- Roane County
- Summers County
- Taylor County
- Tucker County
- Tyler County
- Upshur County
- Wayne County
- Webster County
- Wetzel County
- Wirt County
- Wood County
- Wyoming County
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