Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.6md
Earthquake near Abingdon, VA
No earthquake was likely felt in Abingdon in the 24 hours to 7:29 am EST (12:29 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 222 km (138 mi) SW, at 9:04 am EDT on 10 May 2025, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 45,935 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Abingdon
This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) south-southwest of Abingdon, VA, at 6:04 am EST on 21 November 2021 (11:04 UTC), 4.5 km deep. 210 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 9 km SSW of Abingdon, Virginia
45 km (28 mi) NE of Johnson City, TN
- When
- 6:04 am EST on 21 November 2021 ()
- Where
- 10 km (6 mi) south-southwest of Abingdon, VA · earthquakes near Abingdon
- Magnitude
- M 2.6 (md)
- Depth
- 4.5 km below the surface
- Felt
- 210 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Bristol city, 12 km W
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1747 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Abingdon, 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 49 km (30 mi) from the epicentre. In Abingdon, 10 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Bristol, Bristol, Walnut Hill, Emory, Mountain City, Bluff City.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 210 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 72,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 51,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4.6× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.6 about 210 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 36.6318, -82.0253. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol city, VA | 12 km (7 mi) | W | earthquakes near Bristol city |
| Washington County, VA | 15 km (9 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Washington County |
| Johnson County, TN | 25 km (15 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Johnson County |
| Sullivan County, TN | 28 km (17 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Sullivan County |
| Russell County, VA | 34 km (21 mi) | N | earthquakes near Russell County |
| Carter County, TN | 40 km (25 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Carter County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
2 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
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.