QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4md

Earthquake near Seymour, TN

No earthquake was likely felt in Seymour in the 24 hours to 9:11 am EST (14:11 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 12 km (7 mi) SE, at 7:03 pm EST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Seymour

This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) east-northeast of Seymour, TN, at 9:09 pm EDT on 2 August 2020 (01:09 UTC), 18 km deep.

USGS: 8 km ENE of Seymour, Tennessee

28 km (18 mi) ESE of Knoxville, TN

9:09 pm EDT, Aug 2, 2020 · · 18 km deep · released about 130 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sevier County 18 kmJefferson County 23 kmKnox County 28 kmBlount County 36 kmGrainger County 42 kmSwain County 42 kmUnion County 44 kmCocke County 47 kmHamblen County 47 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
9:09 pm EDT on 2 August 2020 ()
Where
8 km (5 mi) east-northeast of Seymour, TN · earthquakes near Seymour
Magnitude
M 2.4 (md)
Depth
18 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Sevier County, 18 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2291 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 39 km (24 mi) from the epicentre. In Seymour, 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.

Likely felt in: Seymour 8 km, intensity II · Sevierville 9 km, intensity II · Mascot 18 km, intensity II · Knoxville 26 km, intensity II · Maryville 35 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 130 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 110,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 80,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 7.2× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 130 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 35.9192, -83.6393. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sevier County, TN 18 km (11 mi) SE earthquakes near Sevier County
Jefferson County, TN 23 km (14 mi) NE earthquakes near Jefferson County
Knox County, TN 28 km (17 mi) WNW earthquakes near Knox County
Blount County, TN 36 km (23 mi) SW earthquakes near Blount County
Grainger County, TN 42 km (26 mi) NNE earthquakes near Grainger County
Swain County, NC 42 km (26 mi) SSE earthquakes near Swain County

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

Aftershocks so far

51 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.6 Kentucky-Tennessee border region
  2. 2.7 3 km S of Blaine, Tennessee
  3. 2.0 3 km SSW of Maryville, Tennessee
  4. 1.8 6 km NNW of Farragut, Tennessee
  5. 2.5 Tennessee
  6. 2.0 3 km E of Rutledge, Tennessee
  7. 2.2 Kentucky-Tennessee border region
  8. 2.5 2 km N of Farragut, Tennessee
  9. 2.4 0 km NE of Alcoa, Tennessee
  10. 2.2 1 km SE of Alcoa, Tennessee
  11. 2.4 6 km W of Pittman Center, Tennessee
  12. 2.3 1 km NNW of Wildwood, Tennessee
  13. 2.1 2 km NW of Wildwood, Tennessee
  14. 2.6 9 km ENE of Garland, Tennessee
  15. 2.5 8 km WSW of New Market, Tennessee

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.