Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.5md
Earthquake near Asheville, NC
No earthquake was likely felt in Asheville in the 24 hours to 7:38 pm EST (00:38 UTC). The last one was M 2.0, 15 km (9 mi) NNE, at 7:57 am EDT on 23 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 4 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Asheville
This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 36 km (23 mi) east-northeast of Asheville, NC, at 2:14 am EDT on 22 October 2017 (06:14 UTC), 14 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 15 km N of Old Fort, North Carolina
38 km (24 mi) NE of Asheville, NC · 140 km (87 mi) WNW of Charlotte, NC
- When
- 2:14 am EDT on 22 October 2017 ()
- Where
- 36 km (23 mi) east-northeast of Asheville, NC · earthquakes near Asheville
- North Carolina today
- every earthquake in North Carolina in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 2.5 (md)
- Depth
- 14 km below the surface
- Felt
- 2 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Yancey County, 16 km NNW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3220 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Asheville, NC
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 44 km (27 mi) from the epicentre. In Asheville, 36 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.
Likely felt in: Asheville 36 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 170 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 89,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 63,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.6× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.5 about 170 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:
- 5.2 Near Asheville, North Carolina · 40 km SW 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 35.7700, -82.2093. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yancey County, NC | 16 km (10 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Yancey County |
| McDowell County, NC | 18 km (11 mi) | SE | earthquakes near McDowell County |
| Mitchell County, NC | 27 km (17 mi) | N | earthquakes near Mitchell County |
| Buncombe County, NC | 34 km (21 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Buncombe County |
| Unicoi County, TN | 41 km (26 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Unicoi County |
| Avery County, NC | 42 km (26 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Avery County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
25 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 8 km ENE of Weaverville, North Carolina
- 1.7 8 km ENE of Weaverville, North Carolina
- 1.9 8 km E of Weaverville, North Carolina
- 1.7 6 km WSW of Newland, North Carolina
- 2.1 4 km NNW of Weaverville, North Carolina
- 2.1 3 km NW of Marion, North Carolina
- 2.2 3 km NNW of Marion, North Carolina
- 2.1 7 km NW of Weaverville, North Carolina
- 1.8 8 km W of Bakersville, North Carolina
- 1.8 12 km N of Old Fort, North Carolina
- 2.0 7 km N of Spruce Pine, North Carolina
- 1.8 5 km NNW of Weaverville, North Carolina
- 1.9 5 km N of Weaverville, North Carolina
- 1.8 9 km E of Bakersville, North Carolina
- 2.1 5 km SE of Gerton, North Carolina
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.