Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.3md
Earthquake near Harlan, KY
No earthquake was likely felt in Harlan in the 24 hours to 8:03 am EST (13:03 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 156 km (97 mi) SSW, at 9:04 am EDT on 10 May 2025, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 45,935 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Harlan
This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) east-northeast of Harlan, KY, at 11:38 am EDT on 21 October 2020 (15:38 UTC), 9.4 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 4 km W of Evarts, Kentucky
- When
- 11:38 am EDT on 21 October 2020 ()
- Where
- 8 km (5 mi) east-northeast of Harlan, KY · earthquakes near Harlan
- Kentucky today
- every earthquake in Kentucky in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 2.3 (md)
- Depth
- 9.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- 2 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Harlan County, 2 km ESE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2212 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Harlan, KY
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Harlan, KY. 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 34 km (21 mi) from the epicentre. In Harlan, 8 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: Pennington Gap, Cumberland, Dryden.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 72 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 210,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 150,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 13× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.3 about 72 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 36.8672, -83.2428. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harlan County, KY | 2 km (1 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Harlan County |
| Lee County, VA | 21 km (13 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Lee County |
| Leslie County, KY | 28 km (17 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Leslie County |
| Hancock County, TN | 38 km (24 mi) | S | earthquakes near Hancock County |
| Perry County, KY | 42 km (26 mi) | N | earthquakes near Perry County |
| Bell County, KY | 42 km (26 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Bell 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.
- 2.1 5 km ESE of Pineville, Kentucky
- 2.5 9 km NE of Flat Lick, Kentucky
- 2.4 5 km ENE of Harrogate, Tennessee
- 2.7 18 km SSE of Hyden, Kentucky
- 2.2 9 km SSW of Cumberland, Kentucky
- 2.4 Kentucky-Tennessee border region
- 2.5 5 km SW of Benham, Kentucky
- 2.0 8 km SW of Cawood, Kentucky
- 2.3 4 km E of Harrogate, Tennessee
- 2.2 12 km SW of Pathfork, Kentucky
- 2.2 10 km WSW of Hyden, Kentucky
- 2.5 6 km E of Sneedville, Tennessee
- 3.1 Tennessee-Virginia border region
- 2.0 1 km SSW of Cawood, Kentucky
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.