Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.3md
Earthquake near Salyersville, KY
No earthquake was likely felt in Salyersville in the 24 hours to 7:28 am EST (12:28 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 259 km (161 mi) SSW, at 9:04 am EDT on 10 May 2025, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 45,935 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Salyersville
This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 19 km (12 mi) southwest of Salyersville, KY, at 3:32 am EST on 23 December 2021 (08:32 UTC), 9.6 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 16 km NE of Jackson, Kentucky
- When
- 3:32 am EST on 23 December 2021 ()
- Where
- 19 km (12 mi) southwest of Salyersville, KY · earthquakes near Salyersville
- Kentucky today
- every earthquake in Kentucky in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 2.3 (md)
- Depth
- 9.6 km below the surface
- Felt
- 2 reports · strongest reported intensity I
- Nearest
- Magoffin County, 15 km ENE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1784 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Salyersville, KY
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Salyersville, KY. No account or email needed.
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 37 km (23 mi) from the epicentre. In Salyersville, 19 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.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 94 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 5.8 160,000× 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 10× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.3 about 94 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 37.6442, -83.2307. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Magoffin County, KY | 15 km (10 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Magoffin County |
| Breathitt County, KY | 16 km (10 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Breathitt County |
| Wolfe County, KY | 26 km (16 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Wolfe County |
| Morgan County, KY | 31 km (19 mi) | N | earthquakes near Morgan County |
| Knott County, KY | 41 km (25 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Knott County |
| Johnson County, KY | 42 km (26 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Johnson County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
No further earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
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.