QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0md

Earthquake near Florence, AL

No earthquake was likely felt in Florence in the 24 hours to 3:20 pm CST (21:20 UTC). The last one was M 4.0, 239 km (149 mi) NW, at 12:59 pm CDT on 23 April 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 913 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Florence

This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 50 km (31 mi) north-northwest of Florence, AL, at 4:11 pm CST on 21 February 2020 (22:11 UTC), 1.5 km deep.

USGS: 19 km W of Collinwood, Tennessee

4:11 pm CST, Feb 21, 2020 · · 1.5 km deep · released about 31 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Wayne County 13 kmHardin County 22 kmLauderdale County 42 kmDecatur County 48 kmLawrence County 50 kmPerry County 53 kmLewis County 55 kmColbert County 56 kmMcNairy County 56 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
4:11 pm CST on 21 February 2020 ()
Where
50 km (31 mi) north-northwest of Florence, AL · earthquakes near Florence
Magnitude
M 2.0 (md)
Depth
1.5 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Wayne County, 13 km ENE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2454 days ago

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 25 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Florence, 50 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: Waynesboro, Clifton, Olivet, Savannah.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 31 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 480,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 340,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 31× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 31 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 35.1912, -87.9473. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Wayne County, TN 13 km (8 mi) ENE earthquakes near Wayne County
Hardin County, TN 22 km (13 mi) W earthquakes near Hardin County
Lauderdale County, AL 42 km (26 mi) SE earthquakes near Lauderdale County
Decatur County, TN 48 km (30 mi) NNW earthquakes near Decatur County
Lawrence County, TN 50 km (31 mi) E earthquakes near Lawrence County
Perry County, TN 53 km (33 mi) N earthquakes near Perry County

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

Aftershocks so far

1 earthquake has been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.3 5 km E of Scotts Hill, 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.