QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near Rockingham, NC

No earthquake was likely felt in Rockingham in the 24 hours to 4:45 pm EST (21:45 UTC). The last one was M 3.6, 123 km (76 mi) SW, at 7:03 pm EDT on 29 June 2022, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3,840 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Rockingham

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 15 km (9 mi) west of Rockingham, NC, at 8:01 pm EST on 1 February 2022 (01:01 UTC), 2.5 km deep.

USGS: 4 km ESE of Lilesville, North Carolina

86 km (53 mi) ESE of Charlotte, NC

8:01 pm EST, Feb 1, 2022 · · 2.5 km deep · released about 14 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Anson County 16 kmRichmond County 18 kmChesterfield County 41 kmMontgomery County 41 kmScotland County 44 kmMarlboro County 46 kmStanly County 49 kmUnion County 54 kmMoore 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
8:01 pm EST on 1 February 2022 ()
Where
15 km (9 mi) west of Rockingham, NC · earthquakes near Rockingham
North Carolina today
every earthquake in North Carolina in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
2.5 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Anson County, 16 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1743 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 15 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Rockingham, 15 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: Cordova, Wadesboro, East Rockingham, Ellerbe, Hamlet, Polkton.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 14 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 790,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 70× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 14 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 34.9555, -79.9387. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Anson County, NC 16 km (10 mi) W earthquakes near Anson County
Richmond County, NC 18 km (11 mi) ENE earthquakes near Richmond County
Chesterfield County, SC 41 km (25 mi) SSW earthquakes near Chesterfield County
Montgomery County, NC 41 km (26 mi) N earthquakes near Montgomery County
Scotland County, NC 44 km (27 mi) ESE earthquakes near Scotland County
Marlboro County, SC 46 km (29 mi) SSE earthquakes near Marlboro County

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

Aftershocks so far

2 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.0 5 km SSW of Marshville, North Carolina
  2. 2.2 7 km ESE of Pageland, South 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.