QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6md

Virginia-North Carolina border region

Yes. A magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded in the Virginia-North Carolina border region, 90 km (56 mi) NW of Winston-Salem, NC, at 5:25 am EDT on 25 October 2022 (09:25 UTC), 3.0 km deep. 144 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

90 km (56 mi) NW of Winston-Salem, NC

· 3.0 km deep · released about 230 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Alleghany County 13 kmGrayson County 15 kmGalax city 16 kmCarroll County 34 kmWythe County 35 kmSurry County 39 kmAshe County 42 kmWilkes County 43 kmSmyth County 51 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
Magnitude
M 2.6 (md)
Depth
3.0 km below the surface
Felt
144 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Alleghany County, 13 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 262 days ago

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 50 km (31 mi) from the epicentre. 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: Sparta 11 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 230 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 65,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 46,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4.1× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 230 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km in our catalogue was M 5.1 on 2020-08-09 — about 5,800 times the energy of this one.

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 36.5877, -81.0625. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Alleghany County, NC 13 km (8 mi) SSW earthquakes near Alleghany County
Grayson County, VA 15 km (10 mi) WNW earthquakes near Grayson County
Galax city, VA 16 km (10 mi) ENE earthquakes near Galax city
Carroll County, VA 34 km (21 mi) ENE earthquakes near Carroll County
Wythe County, VA 35 km (22 mi) N earthquakes near Wythe County
Surry County, NC 39 km (24 mi) ESE earthquakes near Surry County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 3 km WNW of Thurmond, North Carolina
  2. 2.2 9 km ESE of Independence, Virginia
  3. 2.2 7 km SSE of Sparta, North Carolina
  4. 2.1 4 km WSW of Lowgap, North Carolina
  5. 2.2 16 km E of Jefferson, North Carolina
  6. 2.0 8 km S of Sparta, North Carolina
  7. 2.2 7 km SSE of Sparta, North Carolina
  8. 2.2 6 km SSE of Sparta, North Carolina
  9. 2.1 1 km ESE of Sparta, North Carolina
  10. 2.3 5 km SE of Sparta, North Carolina
  11. 2.3 2 km E of Sparta, North Carolina
  12. 1.5 8 km W of Lowgap, North Carolina
  13. 2.3 8 km W of Lowgap, North Carolina
  14. 2.6 Virginia-North Carolina border region
  15. 2.7 5 km S of Hillsville, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.