Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.0md
Earthquake near Canton, NC
No earthquake was likely felt in Canton in the 24 hours to 4:16 am EST (09:16 UTC). The last one was M 2.0, 7 km (5 mi) SSW, at 7:24 am EDT on 22 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 5 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Canton
This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 7 km (5 mi) south-southwest of Canton, NC, at 7:24 am EDT on 22 August 2026 (11:24 UTC), 6.2 km deep. 5 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 7 km SSW of Canton, North Carolina
31 km (19 mi) WSW of Asheville, NC · 112 km (70 mi) ESE of Knoxville, TN
- When
- 7:24 am EDT on 22 August 2026 ()
- Where
- 7 km (5 mi) south-southwest of Canton, NC · earthquakes near Canton
- North Carolina today
- every earthquake in North Carolina in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 2.0 (md)
- Depth
- 6.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- 5 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Haywood County, 14 km NW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 74 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Canton, NC
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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 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 22 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In Canton, 7 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: West Canton, Clyde, Lake Junaluska, Waynesville, Hazelwood, Cove Creek.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 26 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 580,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 410,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 36× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.0 about 26 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:
- 5.2 Near Asheville, North Carolina · 34 km E 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 35.4708, -82.8692. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Haywood County, NC | 14 km (9 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Haywood County |
| Transylvania County, NC | 29 km (18 mi) | S | earthquakes near Transylvania County |
| Jackson County, NC | 31 km (19 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Jackson County |
| Buncombe County, NC | 34 km (21 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Buncombe County |
| Henderson County, NC | 38 km (24 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Henderson County |
| Madison County, NC | 46 km (29 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Madison County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
3 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.3 7 km SE of Brevard, North Carolina
- 2.1 8 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
- 2.0 8 km ENE of Weaverville, North Carolina
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.