Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.5md
Earthquake near Burnsville, NC
No earthquake was likely felt in Burnsville in the 24 hours to 5:06 am EST (10:06 UTC). The last one was M 1.8, 13 km (8 mi) NNE, at 2:21 am EDT on 11 September 2025, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Burnsville
This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) north-northwest of Burnsville, NC, at 9:38 pm EST on 29 February 2016 (02:38 UTC), 1.4 km deep. 18 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 6 km NNW of Burnsville, North Carolina
42 km (26 mi) S of Johnson City, TN · 146 km (91 mi) E of Knoxville, TN
- When
- 9:38 pm EST on 29 February 2016 ()
- Where
- 6 km (4 mi) north-northwest of Burnsville, NC · earthquakes near Burnsville
- North Carolina today
- every earthquake in North Carolina in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 2.5 (md)
- Depth
- 1.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- 18 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Yancey County, 9 km S
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3840 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Burnsville, 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 46 km (29 mi) from the epicentre. In Burnsville, 6 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: Banner Hill, Erwin, Spruce Pine, Unicoi, Mars Hill.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 160 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 92,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 65,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.8× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.5 about 160 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 35.9718, -82.3237. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yancey County, NC | 9 km (6 mi) | S | earthquakes near Yancey County |
| Mitchell County, NC | 15 km (9 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Mitchell County |
| Unicoi County, TN | 17 km (10 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Unicoi County |
| Madison County, NC | 37 km (23 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Madison County |
| Avery County, NC | 38 km (24 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Avery County |
| Carter County, TN | 39 km (24 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Carter County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
41 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 8 km ENE of Weaverville, North Carolina
- 1.7 8 km ENE of Weaverville, North Carolina
- 1.9 8 km E of Weaverville, North Carolina
- 1.7 6 km WSW of Newland, North Carolina
- 2.1 4 km NNW of Weaverville, North Carolina
- 2.1 3 km NW of Marion, North Carolina
- 2.2 3 km NNW of Marion, North Carolina
- 2.1 7 km NW of Weaverville, North Carolina
- 2.3 2 km ENE of Greeneville, Tennessee
- 1.8 8 km W of Bakersville, North Carolina
- 2.2 8 km WNW of Roan Mountain, Tennessee
- 1.8 12 km N of Old Fort, North Carolina
- 2.0 7 km N of Spruce Pine, North Carolina
- 1.8 5 km NNW of Weaverville, North Carolina
- 1.9 5 km N of Weaverville, 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.