Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5md
Earthquake near Hickory, NC
USGS: 3 km SSE of Brookford, North Carolina
69 km (43 mi) NW of Charlotte, NC · 47 km (29 mi) WNW of Mooresville, NC
- When
- 8:12 am EST on 19 February 2018 ()
- Where
- 6 km (4 mi) S of Hickory, NC · earthquakes near Hickory
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (md)
- Depth
- 2.5 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Catawba County, 11 km E
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3148 days ago
A magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) S of Hickory, NC, at 8:12 am EST on 19 February 2018 (13:12 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Mountain View, Longview, Hildebran, Newton, Conover, Saint Stephens.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 5.4 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 2,800,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.4 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 35.6782, -81.3325. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catawba County, NC | 11 km (7 mi) | E | earthquakes near Catawba County |
| Lincoln County, NC | 23 km (14 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Lincoln County |
| Alexander County, NC | 30 km (19 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Alexander County |
| Burke County, NC | 35 km (21 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Burke County |
| Caldwell County, NC | 36 km (22 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Caldwell County |
| Cleveland County, NC | 43 km (27 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Cleveland County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
16 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.2 13 km NNW of Cedar Rock, North Carolina
- 1.8 3 km SE of Troutman, North Carolina
- 1.8 North Carolina
- 2.0 3 km ESE of Catawba, North Carolina
- 2.1 3 km ESE of Catawba, North Carolina
- 2.6 6 km N of Morganton, North Carolina
- 2.0 5 km W of Statesville, North Carolina
- 1.6 2 km N of Catawba, North Carolina
- 1.7 6 km ESE of Mountain View, North Carolina
- 2.1 12 km NNW of Cedar Rock, North Carolina
- 2.4 7 km WSW of Newton, North Carolina
- 1.6 3 km SSE of Brookford, North Carolina
- 1.9 5 km ESE of Cedar Rock, North Carolina
- 2.4 14 km NNW of Cedar Rock, North Carolina
- 1.7 6 km ESE of Mountain View, 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.