Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.2md
Earthquake near Blacksburg, VA
No earthquake was likely felt in Blacksburg in the 24 hours to 3:26 am EST (08:26 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 24 km (15 mi) WNW, at 4:44 am EDT on 11 August 2024, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Blacksburg
This page: a magnitude 3.2 earthquake was recorded 37 km (23 mi) northwest of Blacksburg, VA, at 1:33 pm EDT on 13 September 2017 (17:33 UTC), 18 km deep. 529 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 11 km NE of Peterstown, West Virginia
- When
- 1:33 pm EDT on 13 September 2017 ()
- Where
- 37 km (23 mi) northwest of Blacksburg, VA · earthquakes near Blacksburg
- Magnitude
- M 3.2 (md)
- Depth
- 18 km below the surface
- Felt
- 529 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Monroe County, 16 km NE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2572 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Blacksburg, VA
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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 189 km (117 mi) from the epicentre. In Blacksburg, 37 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Blacksburg 37 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1,900 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 180,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 7,900× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 5,600× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.2 about 1,900 lb of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2× more
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 37.4728, -80.7030. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monroe County, WV | 16 km (10 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Monroe County |
| Giles County, VA | 17 km (11 mi) | S | earthquakes near Giles County |
| Summers County, WV | 24 km (15 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Summers County |
| Mercer County, WV | 36 km (23 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Mercer County |
| Radford city, VA | 41 km (26 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Radford city |
| Craig County, VA | 42 km (26 mi) | E | earthquakes near Craig County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
14 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.3 2 km ENE of Meadow Bridge, West Virginia
- 2.2 2 km N of Pembroke, Virginia
- 2.3 8 km WNW of New Castle, Virginia
- 2.5 2 km N of Pembroke, Virginia
- 2.3 2 km N of Pembroke, Virginia
- 1.9 16 km ESE of Union, West Virginia
- 2.6 4 km N of Lafayette, Virginia
- 2.8 10 km S of Narrows, Virginia
- 2.3 10 km NW of Pulaski, Virginia
- 2.5 21 km W of New Castle, Virginia
- 2.5 21 km W of New Castle, Virginia
- 2.1 20 km W of New Castle, Virginia
- 2.6 13 km E of Meadow Bridge, West Virginia
- 2.4 6 km SW of Oakvale, West 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.