Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.4md
Earthquake near Newton, NC
No earthquake was likely felt in Newton in the 24 hours to 9:14 am EST (14:14 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 150 km (93 mi) W, at 6:09 am EDT on 4 June 2023, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 740 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Newton
This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) west-southwest of Newton, NC, at 7:15 am EST on 23 December 2018 (12:15 UTC), 1.5 km deep. 79 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 7 km WSW of Newton, North Carolina
64 km (40 mi) NW of Charlotte, NC · 43 km (27 mi) W of Mooresville, NC
- When
- 7:15 am EST on 23 December 2018 ()
- Where
- 7 km (4 mi) west-southwest of Newton, NC · earthquakes near Newton
- North Carolina today
- every earthquake in North Carolina in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 2.4 (md)
- Depth
- 1.5 km below the surface
- Felt
- 79 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Catawba County, 7 km ENE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2818 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Newton, 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 39 km (24 mi) from the epicentre. In Newton, 7 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: Mountain View, Conover, Hickory, Maiden, Longview, Saint Stephens.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 100 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 5.8 150,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 110,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 9.4× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.4 about 100 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 35.6473, -81.2940. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catawba County, NC | 7 km (5 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Catawba County |
| Lincoln County, NC | 19 km (12 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Lincoln County |
| Alexander County, NC | 32 km (20 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Alexander County |
| Burke County, NC | 39 km (24 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Burke County |
| Caldwell County, NC | 41 km (25 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Caldwell County |
| Gaston County, NC | 41 km (25 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Gaston 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.
- 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
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.