QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5md

Earthquake near Buford, GA

No earthquake was likely felt in Buford in the 24 hours to 11:49 am EST (16:49 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 26 km (16 mi) SSW, at 11:01 am EDT on 29 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 25 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Buford

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 4 km (3 mi) northwest of Buford, GA, at 11:15 pm EDT on 6 June 2024 (03:15 UTC), 4.1 km deep. 165 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 4 km NW of Buford, Georgia

56 km (35 mi) NE of Atlanta, GA · 21 km (13 mi) NE of Johns Creek, GA

11:15 pm EDT, Jun 6, 2024 · · 4.1 km deep · released about 140 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Forsyth County 12 kmGwinnett County 21 kmHall County 27 kmBarrow County 34 kmDawson County 35 kmCherokee County 42 kmJackson County 43 kmDeKalb County 46 kmLumpkin County 46 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
11:15 pm EDT on 6 June 2024 ()
Where
4 km (3 mi) northwest of Buford, GA · earthquakes near Buford
Magnitude
M 2.5 (md)
Depth
4.1 km below the surface
Felt
165 reports · strongest reported intensity V
Nearest
Forsyth County, 12 km NW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 550 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 43 km (27 mi) from the epicentre. In Buford, 4 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Sugar Hill, Flowery Branch, Suwanee, Cumming, Oakwood, Duluth.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 140 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 5.8 110,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 75,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 6.7× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 140 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 34.1513, -84.0328. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Forsyth County, GA 12 km (7 mi) NW earthquakes near Forsyth County
Gwinnett County, GA 21 km (13 mi) S earthquakes near Gwinnett County
Hall County, GA 27 km (17 mi) NE earthquakes near Hall County
Barrow County, GA 34 km (21 mi) ESE earthquakes near Barrow County
Dawson County, GA 35 km (22 mi) NNW earthquakes near Dawson County
Cherokee County, GA 42 km (26 mi) WNW earthquakes near Cherokee County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 3 km N of Lilburn, Georgia
  2. 2.2 4 km NW of Buford, Georgia
  3. 2.3 4 km NW of Buford, Georgia
  4. 2.1 3 km N of Sugar Hill, Georgia

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.