Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.8md
Earthquake near Blacksburg, VA
No earthquake was likely felt in Blacksburg in the 24 hours to 3:32 pm EST (20:32 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 2.8 earthquake was recorded 38 km (24 mi) west of Blacksburg, VA, at 12:31 am EDT on 12 May 2017 (04:31 UTC), 4.1 km deep. 19 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 6 km SSW of Narrows, Virginia
- When
- 12:31 am EDT on 12 May 2017 ()
- Where
- 38 km (24 mi) west of Blacksburg, VA · earthquakes near Blacksburg
- Magnitude
- M 2.8 (md)
- Depth
- 4.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- 19 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Giles County, 13 km ENE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3141 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Blacksburg, VA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Blacksburg, 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 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 59 km (37 mi) from the epicentre. In Blacksburg, 38 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: Blacksburg 38 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 400 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 38,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 27,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.4× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.8 about 400 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 37.2772, -80.8410. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Giles County, VA | 13 km (8 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Giles County |
| Pulaski County, VA | 26 km (16 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Pulaski County |
| Mercer County, WV | 27 km (17 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Mercer County |
| Bland County, VA | 30 km (19 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Bland County |
| Radford city, VA | 30 km (19 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Radford city |
| Monroe County, WV | 40 km (25 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Monroe County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
13 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.2 2 km N of Pembroke, 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
- 2.8 10 km S of Narrows, Virginia
- 2.2 6 km S of Allisonia, 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
- 2.4 6 km SW of Oakvale, West Virginia
- 3.2 11 km NE of Peterstown, West Virginia
- 2.3 6 km ESE of Bland, 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.