QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near Greenback, TN

No earthquake was likely felt in Greenback in the 24 hours to 9:23 am EST (14:23 UTC). The last one was M 2.4, 27 km (17 mi) NW, at 1:54 am EDT on 30 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Greenback

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 14 km (8 mi) south-southeast of Greenback, TN, at 1:38 am EST on 19 February 2026 (06:38 UTC), 11 km deep.

USGS: 13 km SSE of Greenback, Tennessee

48 km (30 mi) SSW of Knoxville, TN

1:38 am EST, Feb 19, 2026 · · 11 km deep · released about 13 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Monroe County 19 kmBlount County 21 kmLoudon County 28 kmGraham County 33 kmCherokee County 47 kmMcMinn County 50 kmKnox County 50 kmRoane County 51 kmSwain County 57 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
1:38 am EST on 19 February 2026 ()
Where
14 km (8 mi) south-southeast of Greenback, TN · earthquakes near Greenback
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Monroe County, 19 km SW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 265 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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Greenback, 14 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: Vonore, Tellico Village, Maryville, Madisonville, Alcoa, Loudon.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 13 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 840,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 75× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 13 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 since 2016 was M 4.1 on 2025-05-10 — about 3,300 times the energy of this one.

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 35.5580, -84.0910. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Monroe County, TN 19 km (12 mi) SW earthquakes near Monroe County
Blount County, TN 21 km (13 mi) NE earthquakes near Blount County
Loudon County, TN 28 km (18 mi) NW earthquakes near Loudon County
Graham County, NC 33 km (21 mi) SE earthquakes near Graham County
Cherokee County, NC 47 km (29 mi) S earthquakes near Cherokee County
McMinn County, TN 50 km (31 mi) WSW earthquakes near McMinn County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 6 km NNE of Rockford, Tennessee
  2. 1.6 1 km SSW of Sweetwater, Tennessee
  3. 1.6 3 km SSW of Huntsville, Tennessee
  4. 2.4 11 km NW of Huntsville, Tennessee
  5. 1.7 5 km SSW of Maryville, Tennessee
  6. 1.9 7 km SW of Tellico Village, Tennessee
  7. 1.7 8 km ESE of Englewood, Tennessee
  8. 2.1 5 km NNE of Greenback, Tennessee
  9. 2.0 1 km S of Tellico Village, Tennessee
  10. 2.1 1 km S of Tellico Village, Tennessee
  11. 1.7 1 km ENE of Sweetwater, Tennessee
  12. 2.0 3 km SW of Tellico Village, Tennessee
  13. 1.6 8 km E of Englewood, Tennessee
  14. 1.8 8 km E of Englewood, Tennessee
  15. 2.2 9 km S of Oak Ridge, 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.