QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4md

Earthquake near Middlesboro, KY

USGS: 8 km SW of Middlesboro, Kentucky

66 km (41 mi) NNE of Knoxville, TN

7:40 pm EDT, Oct 17, 2017 · · 18 km deep · released about 100 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Middlesboro Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Claiborne County 12 kmBell County 22 kmUnion County 30 kmCampbell County 38 kmGrainger County 38 kmKnox County 39 kmWhitley County 40 kmHancock County 49 kmHamblen County 59 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
7:40 pm EDT on 17 October 2017 ()
Where
9 km (6 mi) SW of Middlesboro, KY · earthquakes near Middlesboro
Magnitude
M 2.4 (md)
Depth
18 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Claiborne County, 12 km ESE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3272 days ago

A magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 9 km (6 mi) SW of Middlesboro, KY, at 7:40 pm EDT on 17 October 2017 (23:40 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Harrogate, Speedwell, New Tazewell, Tazewell, Pineville, Fincastle.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 100 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 150,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 110,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 9.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 100 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 since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 36.5460, -83.7790. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Claiborne County, TN 12 km (7 mi) ESE earthquakes near Claiborne County
Bell County, KY 22 km (14 mi) NNE earthquakes near Bell County
Union County, TN 30 km (18 mi) S earthquakes near Union County
Campbell County, TN 38 km (23 mi) WSW earthquakes near Campbell County
Grainger County, TN 38 km (24 mi) SE earthquakes near Grainger County
Knox County, KY 39 km (24 mi) N earthquakes near Knox County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

56 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.4 5 km NNE of Bean Station, Tennessee
  2. 2.4 5 km ENE of Harrogate, Tennessee
  3. 2.3 2 km ENE of Rutledge, Tennessee
  4. 2.1 9 km ENE of Rutledge, Tennessee
  5. 1.8 12 km W of New Tazewell, Tennessee
  6. 2.1 7 km ENE of Rutledge, Tennessee
  7. 1.9 8 km WNW of Rutledge, Tennessee
  8. 2.4 2 km ESE of Rutledge, Tennessee
  9. 2.4 7 km ENE of Blaine, Tennessee
  10. 1.8 4 km S of New Tazewell, Tennessee
  11. 1.9 1 km NE of Rutledge, Tennessee
  12. 1.9 1 km WSW of Plainview, Tennessee
  13. 2.6 Kentucky-Tennessee border region
  14. 2.7 3 km S of Blaine, Tennessee
  15. 2.8 Kentucky-Tennessee border region

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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.