Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5md
Earthquake near Etowah, TN
No earthquake was likely felt in Etowah in the 24 hours to 5:03 pm EST (22:03 UTC). The last one was M 1.9, 14 km (9 mi) NW, at 6:30 am EDT on 31 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Etowah
This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 4 km (3 mi) north-northeast of Etowah, TN, at 11:02 pm EST on 19 January 2018 (04:02 UTC), 12 km deep.
USGS: 4 km NNE of Etowah, Tennessee
74 km (46 mi) ENE of Chattanooga, TN · 38 km (24 mi) ENE of Cleveland, TN
- When
- 11:02 pm EST on 19 January 2018 ()
- Where
- 4 km (3 mi) north-northeast of Etowah, TN · earthquakes near Etowah
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (md)
- Depth
- 12 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- McMinn County, 12 km NW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3215 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Etowah, TN
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Etowah, TN. No account or email needed.
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 minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Etowah, 4 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Athens, Madisonville, Benton, Sweetwater.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 5.7 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,600,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 170× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.7 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 35.3620, -84.5145. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| McMinn County, TN | 12 km (7 mi) | NW | earthquakes near McMinn County |
| Monroe County, TN | 26 km (16 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Monroe County |
| Polk County, TN | 28 km (18 mi) | S | earthquakes near Polk County |
| Meigs County, TN | 32 km (20 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Meigs County |
| Bradley County, TN | 39 km (24 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Bradley County |
| Loudon County, TN | 45 km (28 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Loudon County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
43 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 11 km SE of Dayton, Tennessee
- 2.2 10 km SE of Dayton, Tennessee
- 1.7 2 km NE of Tellico Village, Tennessee
- 2.1 2 km ESE of Tellico Village, Tennessee
- 2.2 2 km ESE of Tellico Village, Tennessee
- 2.3 1 km E of Tellico Village, Tennessee
- 1.7 3 km S of Huntsville, Tennessee
- 1.7 1 km N of Decatur, Tennessee
- 2.3 2 km NE of Tellico Village, Tennessee
- 1.7 11 km NNE of Decatur, Tennessee
- 2.8 13 km SE of Vonore, Tennessee
- 2.2 2 km SSE of Englewood, Tennessee
- 2.1 2 km SSE of Englewood, Tennessee
- 2.1 12 km NNE of Decatur, TN
- 2.1 11 km NNE of Decatur, Tennessee
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.