Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.4md
Earthquake near Carlisle, KY
No earthquake was likely felt in Carlisle in the 24 hours to 9:49 am EST (14:49 UTC). The last one was M 3.1, 81 km (51 mi) SSW, at 12:47 pm EST on 28 December 2025, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 405 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Carlisle
This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 12 km (8 mi) east-southeast of Carlisle, KY, at 7:08 pm EDT on 2 August 2018 (23:08 UTC), less than 1 km deep.
USGS: 9 km NNE of Sharpsburg, Kentucky
56 km (35 mi) ENE of Lexington-Fayette, KY
- When
- 7:08 pm EDT on 2 August 2018 ()
- Where
- 12 km (8 mi) east-southeast of Carlisle, KY · earthquakes near Carlisle
- Kentucky today
- every earthquake in Kentucky in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 2.4 (md)
- Depth
- 0.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Nicholas County, 13 km WNW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3022 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Carlisle, KY
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Carlisle, KY. 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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 41 km (25 mi) from the epicentre. In Carlisle, 12 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Owingsville, Flemingsburg, Mount Sterling.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 120 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 130,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 92,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 8.2× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.4 about 120 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 · 11 km SSW 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 38.2827, -83.8940. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicholas County, KY | 13 km (8 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Nicholas County |
| Fleming County, KY | 19 km (12 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Fleming County |
| Bath County, KY | 20 km (12 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Bath County |
| Montgomery County, KY | 27 km (17 mi) | S | earthquakes near Montgomery County |
| Bourbon County, KY | 29 km (18 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Bourbon County |
| Robertson County, KY | 30 km (18 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Robertson County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
10 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
- 2.2 4 km S of Mount Sterling, Kentucky
- 2.5 3 km SW of Old Washington, Kentucky
- 2.2 20 km SSW of Vanceburg, Kentucky
- 2.1 10 km S of Concord, Kentucky
- 1.8 13 km ESE of Flemingsburg, Kentucky
- 1.8 11 km SE of Maysville, Kentucky
- 2.0 6 km SSE of Sardis, Kentucky
- 2.1 6 km NW of Ewing, 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.