Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6md
Earthquake near Hickory, NC
No earthquake was likely felt in Hickory in the 24 hours to 11:54 am EST (16:54 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 240 km (149 mi) W, at 9:04 am EDT on 10 May 2025, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 45,935 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Hickory
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) south of Hickory, NC, at 6:13 pm EDT on 21 October 2018 (22:13 UTC), 1.3 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
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
- 6:13 pm EDT on 21 October 2018 ()
- Where
- 7 km (4 mi) south of Hickory, NC · earthquakes near Hickory
- North Carolina today
- every earthquake in North Carolina in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (md)
- Depth
- 1.3 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity I
- Nearest
- Catawba County, 11 km E
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2937 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Hickory, 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 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 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Hickory, 7 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: Mountain View, Longview, Hildebran, Newton, Conover, Saint Stephens.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 8.1 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,900,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,300,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 120× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.1 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 35.6745, -81.3310. 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 | 31 km (19 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Alexander County |
| Burke County, NC | 35 km (22 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Burke County |
| Caldwell County, NC | 36 km (23 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
11 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
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.