QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

North Carolina

Yes. A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded North Carolina, 59 km (37 mi) NNW of Charlotte, NC, at 2:07 am EDT on 30 May 2022 (06:07 UTC), less than 1 km deep. 16 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

59 km (37 mi) NNW of Charlotte, NC · 28 km (17 mi) WNW of Mooresville, NC

· 0.3 km deep · released about 14 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Catawba County 11 kmIredell County 24 kmLincoln County 25 kmAlexander County 26 kmGaston County 45 kmCaldwell County 48 kmRowan County 53 kmBurke County 55 kmMecklenburg County 55 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
North Carolina today
every earthquake in North Carolina in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
0.3 km below the surface
Felt
16 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Catawba County, 11 km WSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1558 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 16 km (10 mi) from the epicentre. 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: Claremont, Conover, Newton, Sherrills Ford, Maiden, Saint Stephens.

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 35.6925, -81.1018. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Catawba County, NC 11 km (7 mi) WSW earthquakes near Catawba County
Iredell County, NC 24 km (15 mi) ENE earthquakes near Iredell County
Lincoln County, NC 25 km (16 mi) SSW earthquakes near Lincoln County
Alexander County, NC 26 km (16 mi) NNW earthquakes near Alexander County
Gaston County, NC 45 km (28 mi) S earthquakes near Gaston County
Caldwell County, NC 48 km (30 mi) NW earthquakes near Caldwell County

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

Aftershocks so far

1 earthquake has been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.8 3 km SE of Troutman, 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

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