QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5md

Earthquake near Pembroke, VA

No earthquake was likely felt in Pembroke in the 24 hours to 4:14 am EST (09:14 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 3 km (2 mi) N, at 4:44 am EDT on 11 August 2024, estimated intensity III (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Pembroke

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 2 km (1 mi) north of Pembroke, VA, at 9:31 pm EDT on 16 June 2023 (01:31 UTC), 9.5 km deep. 22 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 2 km N of Pembroke, Virginia

9:31 pm EDT, Jun 16, 2023 · · 9.5 km deep · released about 200 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Giles County 5 kmMonroe County 25 kmRadford city 26 kmMontgomery County 29 kmPulaski County 31 kmCraig County 39 kmSummers County 40 kmRoanoke County 40 kmMercer County 42 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
9:31 pm EDT on 16 June 2023 ()
Where
2 km (1 mi) north of Pembroke, VA · earthquakes near Pembroke
Magnitude
M 2.5 (md)
Depth
9.5 km below the surface
Felt
22 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Giles County, 5 km WSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1178 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 48 km (30 mi) from the epicentre. In Pembroke, 2 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.

Likely felt in: Blacksburg 24 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 200 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 75,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 53,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4.7× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 200 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 37.3407, -80.6435. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Giles County, VA 5 km (3 mi) WSW earthquakes near Giles County
Monroe County, WV 25 km (16 mi) NNE earthquakes near Monroe County
Radford city, VA 26 km (16 mi) SSE earthquakes near Radford city
Montgomery County, VA 29 km (18 mi) SE earthquakes near Montgomery County
Pulaski County, VA 31 km (20 mi) SSW earthquakes near Pulaski County
Craig County, VA 39 km (24 mi) ENE earthquakes near Craig 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.

  1. 2.2 2 km N of Pembroke, Virginia
  2. 2.3 8 km WNW of New Castle, 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.