Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.3md
Earthquake near Greeneville, TN
No earthquake was likely felt in Greeneville in the 24 hours to 10:29 am EST (15:29 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 2 km (2 mi) ENE, at 4:37 am EDT on 26 September 2025, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 90 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Greeneville
This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) north of Greeneville, TN, at 4:19 pm EDT on 19 October 2020 (20:19 UTC), 17 km deep. 7 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 6 km N of Greeneville, Tennessee
41 km (25 mi) SW of Kingsport, TN · 106 km (66 mi) ENE of Knoxville, TN
- When
- 4:19 pm EDT on 19 October 2020 ()
- Where
- 7 km (4 mi) north of Greeneville, TN · earthquakes near Greeneville
- Magnitude
- M 2.3 (md)
- Depth
- 17 km below the surface
- Felt
- 7 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Greene County, 6 km SSW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2143 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Greeneville, TN
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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 33 km (21 mi) from the epicentre. In Greeneville, 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: Tusculum, Chuckey, Mosheim, Rogersville, Surgoinsville, Fall Branch.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 88 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 170,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 120,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 11× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.3 about 88 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 36.2240, -82.8172. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greene County, TN | 6 km (4 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Greene County |
| Hawkins County, TN | 27 km (17 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Hawkins County |
| Washington County, TN | 30 km (19 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Washington County |
| Unicoi County, TN | 38 km (24 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Unicoi County |
| Hamblen County, TN | 40 km (25 mi) | W | earthquakes near Hamblen County |
| Madison County, NC | 41 km (26 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Madison County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
12 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.3 2 km ENE of Greeneville, Tennessee
- 2.4 5 km NNE of Bean Station, Tennessee
- 2.3 8 km NNW of Greeneville, Tennessee
- 1.9 1 km SW of Fall Branch, Tennessee
- 2.4 Kentucky-Tennessee border region
- 2.5 6 km E of Sneedville, Tennessee
- 2.0 9 km NNE of Mosheim, Tennessee
- 2.0 10 km NE of Mooresburg, Tennessee
- 1.6 7 km SSW of Banner Hill, Tennessee
- 2.4 9 km SSW of Banner Hill, Tennessee
- 2.8 8 km SW of Banner Hill, Tennessee
- 2.4 6 km NW of Greeneville, 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
- 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.