Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.6md
Earthquake near Asheville, NC
No earthquake was likely felt in Asheville in the 24 hours to 9:09 am EST (14:09 UTC). The last one was M 2.0, 15 km (9 mi) NNE, at 7:57 am EDT on 23 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 4 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Asheville
This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 30 km (19 mi) west-northwest of Asheville, NC, at 6:37 am EST on 13 December 2016 (11:37 UTC), 6.1 km deep. 92 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 18 km WSW of Marshall, North Carolina
31 km (20 mi) WNW of Asheville, NC · 103 km (64 mi) ESE of Knoxville, TN
- When
- 6:37 am EST on 13 December 2016 ()
- Where
- 30 km (19 mi) west-northwest of Asheville, NC · earthquakes near Asheville
- North Carolina today
- every earthquake in North Carolina in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 2.6 (md)
- Depth
- 6.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- 92 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Haywood County, 20 km SW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2685 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Asheville, 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 small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 50 km (31 mi) from the epicentre. In Asheville, 30 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.
Likely felt in: Asheville 30 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 230 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 65,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 46,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4.1× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.6 about 230 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 lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.2 Near Asheville, North Carolina · 40 km SE of this epicentre
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 35.7103, -82.8548. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Haywood County, NC | 20 km (13 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Haywood County |
| Madison County, NC | 21 km (13 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Madison County |
| Buncombe County, NC | 31 km (20 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Buncombe County |
| Cocke County, TN | 33 km (21 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Cocke County |
| Greene County, TN | 52 km (32 mi) | N | earthquakes near Greene County |
| Jackson County, NC | 53 km (33 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Jackson County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
30 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 7 km SSW of Canton, North Carolina
- 1.8 8 km SSE of Clyde, North Carolina
- 2.0 7 km SSE of Clyde, North Carolina
- 2.1 8 km S of West Canton, North Carolina
- 1.7 8 km ENE of Weaverville, North Carolina
- 1.9 7 km SSE of Clyde, North Carolina
- 1.9 8 km E of Weaverville, North Carolina
- 1.9 4 km N of West Canton, North Carolina
- 2.1 4 km NNW of Weaverville, North Carolina
- 2.1 7 km NW of Weaverville, North Carolina
- 1.7 16 km E of Cullowhee, North Carolina
- 2.1 10 km SSE of Pittman Center, Tennessee
- 2.0 4 km N of West Canton, North Carolina
- 2.5 North Carolina
- 2.2 3 km N of West Canton, 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.