Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.3md
Earthquake near Mount Sterling, KY
USGS: 3 km SSW of Lakeview Heights, Kentucky
83 km (52 mi) E of Lexington-Fayette, KY
- When
- 3:24 pm EDT on 26 April 2016 ()
- Where
- 38 km (24 mi) ENE of Mount Sterling, KY · earthquakes near Mount Sterling
- Magnitude
- M 2.3 (md)
- Depth
- 13 km below the surface
- Felt
- 3 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Rowan County, 12 km NE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1522 days ago
A magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 38 km (24 mi) ENE of Mount Sterling, KY, at 3:24 pm EDT on 26 April 2016 (19:24 UTC). 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS. This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Owingsville.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 82 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 12× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.3 about 82 lb of TNT
Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.
For this area
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.0 2 km SW of Sharpsburg, Kentucky · 39 km W of this epicentre
Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.
Where
Epicentre 38.1253, -83.5152. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rowan County, KY | 12 km (7 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Rowan County |
| Bath County, KY | 20 km (12 mi) | W | earthquakes near Bath County |
| Menifee County, KY | 22 km (14 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Menifee County |
| Fleming County, KY | 31 km (20 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Fleming County |
| Morgan County, KY | 32 km (20 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Morgan County |
| Montgomery County, KY | 36 km (22 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Montgomery County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
12 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 15 km E of Flemingsburg, Kentucky
- 2.4 8 km SSE of Flemingsburg, Kentucky
- 2.4 9 km NW of Olive Hill, Kentucky
- 2.2 4 km S of Mount Sterling, Kentucky
- 2.3 5 km WNW of Sandy Hook, Kentucky
- 2.2 20 km SSW of Vanceburg, Kentucky
- 1.8 13 km ESE of Flemingsburg, Kentucky
- 1.9 Ohio-Kentucky border region
- 1.8 11 km SE of Maysville, Kentucky
- 2.4 9 km NNE of Sharpsburg, Kentucky
- 2.1 11 km ESE of Flemingsburg, Kentucky
- 2.0 12 km N of Olive Hill, Kentucky
Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.
On USGS
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.