Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8md
Earthquake near Louisa, VA
No earthquake was likely felt in Louisa in the 24 hours to 4:23 pm EST (21:23 UTC). The last one was M 2.8, 50 km (31 mi) SE, at 5:28 pm EST on 14 January 2025, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1,580 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Louisa
This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 9 km (6 mi) south of Louisa, VA, at 12:00 am EDT on 20 May 2022 (04:00 UTC), 4.7 km deep. 7 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 9 km S of Louisa, Virginia
- When
- 12:00 am EDT on 20 May 2022 ()
- Where
- 9 km (6 mi) south of Louisa, VA · earthquakes near Louisa
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (md)
- Depth
- 4.7 km below the surface
- Felt
- 7 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Louisa County, 4 km NE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Central Virginia seismic zone, 11 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1572 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Louisa, VA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Louisa, VA. 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 16 km (10 mi) from the epicentre. In Louisa, 9 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: Gordonsville.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 15 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,000,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 730,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 65× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 15 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:
- 5.8 11 km SSW of Mineral, Virginia · 6 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 37.9413, -77.9908. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louisa County, VA | 4 km (3 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Louisa County |
| Goochland County, VA | 26 km (16 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Goochland County |
| Fluvanna County, VA | 28 km (18 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Fluvanna County |
| Orange County, VA | 34 km (21 mi) | N | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Spotsylvania County, VA | 40 km (25 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Spotsylvania County |
| Powhatan County, VA | 44 km (27 mi) | S | earthquakes near Powhatan County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
11 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 3 km SW of Wyndham, Virginia
- 2.3 1 km NE of Wyndham, Virginia
- 2.8 1 km NNE of Wyndham, Virginia
- 1.8 9 km S of Louisa, Virginia
- 2.3 18 km ENE of Cumberland, Virginia
- 2.3 4 km N of Glen Allen, Virginia
- 2.2 Virginia
- 1.6 16 km S of Louisa, Virginia
- 2.3 15 km S of Louisa, Virginia
- 2.3 16 km S of Louisa, Virginia
- 2.3 2 km WSW of Columbia, Virginia
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.