QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near Flemingsburg, KY

No earthquake was likely felt in Flemingsburg in the 24 hours to 9:43 am EST (14:43 UTC). The last one was M 3.1, 106 km (66 mi) SW, at 12:47 pm EST on 28 December 2025, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 405 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Flemingsburg

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 15 km (9 mi) east of Flemingsburg, KY, at 3:00 am EDT on 8 March 2026 (07:00 UTC), 20 km deep.

USGS: 15 km E of Flemingsburg, Kentucky

89 km (56 mi) ENE of Lexington-Fayette, KY

3:00 am EDT, Mar 8, 2026 · · 20 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Fleming County 14 kmLewis County 21 kmRowan County 27 kmMason County 30 kmBath County 34 kmNicholas County 42 kmRobertson County 45 kmAdams County 46 kmCarter County 47 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
3:00 am EDT on 8 March 2026 ()
Where
15 km (9 mi) east of Flemingsburg, KY · earthquakes near Flemingsburg
Kentucky today
every earthquake in Kentucky in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
20 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Fleming County, 14 km WSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 247 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Flemingsburg, 15 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: Vanceburg, Maysville.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 930,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 83× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.0 2 km SW of Sharpsburg, Kentucky · 43 km SW of this epicentre

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 38.4255, -83.5605. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Fleming County, KY 14 km (9 mi) WSW earthquakes near Fleming County
Lewis County, KY 21 km (13 mi) NE earthquakes near Lewis County
Rowan County, KY 27 km (17 mi) SSE earthquakes near Rowan County
Mason County, KY 30 km (19 mi) NW earthquakes near Mason County
Bath County, KY 34 km (21 mi) SSW earthquakes near Bath County
Nicholas County, KY 42 km (26 mi) WSW earthquakes near Nicholas County

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

Aftershocks so far

No further 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

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