QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near Louisville, TN

No earthquake was likely felt in Louisville in the 24 hours to 4:25 am EST (09:25 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 15 km (9 mi) ENE, at 2:55 pm EST on 5 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Louisville

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 9 km (6 mi) north-northeast of Louisville, TN, at 2:14 pm EDT on 14 October 2018 (18:14 UTC), 23 km deep.

USGS: 8 km NNE of Louisville, Tennessee

10 km (6 mi) SW of Knoxville, TN

2:14 pm EDT, Oct 14, 2018 · · 23 km deep · released about 13 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Knox County 13 kmBlount County 25 kmAnderson County 29 kmLoudon County 32 kmRoane County 46 kmUnion County 46 kmSevier County 46 kmMonroe County 54 kmJefferson County 55 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
2:14 pm EDT on 14 October 2018 ()
Where
9 km (6 mi) north-northeast of Louisville, TN · earthquakes near Louisville
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
23 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Knox County, 13 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2949 days ago

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 Louisville, 9 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: Knoxville, Farragut, Alcoa, Eagleton Village, Maryville, Wildwood.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 13 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 810,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 72× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 13 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 35.8992, -84.0220. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Knox County, TN 13 km (8 mi) NE earthquakes near Knox County
Blount County, TN 25 km (16 mi) SSE earthquakes near Blount County
Anderson County, TN 29 km (18 mi) NNW earthquakes near Anderson County
Loudon County, TN 32 km (20 mi) SW earthquakes near Loudon County
Roane County, TN 46 km (28 mi) W earthquakes near Roane County
Union County, TN 46 km (29 mi) NNE earthquakes near Union County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 1 km ESE of Farragut, Tennessee
  2. 1.7 10 km SSE of Vonore, Tennessee
  3. 1.6 8 km SSE of Vonore, Tennessee
  4. 1.7 6 km WSW of Tellico Village, Tennessee
  5. 1.7 11 km WNW of Loudon, Tennessee
  6. 2.2 3 km SSW of Garland, Tennessee
  7. 2.4 0 km SSW of Rockford, Tennessee
  8. 1.9 6 km SW of Tellico Village, Tennessee
  9. 1.7 5 km WNW of Sevierville, Tennessee
  10. 2.2 5 km W of Sevierville, Tennessee
  11. 2.1 9 km ESE of Vonore, Tennessee
  12. 2.0 11 km ESE of Vonore, Tennessee
  13. 2.6 2 km SSE of Mascot, Tennessee
  14. 2.1 2 km W of Alcoa, Tennessee
  15. 1.6 3 km SSE of Garland, 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

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