QuakeIndex

mine collapse · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.0mb_lg

Earthquake near Lake View, AL

No earthquake was likely felt in Lake View in the 24 hours to 3:50 pm CST (21:50 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 24 km (15 mi) NNW, at 12:40 am CDT on 20 March 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Lake View

No: USGS classifies this as a mine collapse, not an earthquake. A magnitude 3.0 mine collapse was recorded 8 km (5 mi) northwest of Lake View, AL, at 10:52 am CDT on 22 April 2016 (15:52 UTC), 1.1 km deep.

USGS: 8 km NW of Lake View, Alabama

42 km (26 mi) WSW of Birmingham, AL · 33 km (21 mi) ENE of Tuscaloosa, AL

10:52 am CDT, Apr 22, 2016 · · 1.1 km deep · released about 950 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Tuscaloosa County 31 kmJefferson County 36 kmBibb County 36 kmShelby County 50 kmWalker County 51 kmFayette County 68 kmChilton County 69 kmHale County 77 kmPerry County 78 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
10:52 am CDT on 22 April 2016 ()
Where
8 km (5 mi) northwest of Lake View, AL · earthquakes near Lake View
Magnitude
M 3.0 (mb_lg)
Depth
1.1 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Tuscaloosa County, 31 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3779 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 73 km (45 mi) from the epicentre. In Lake View, 8 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: Brookwood, Woodstock, North Bibb, Rock Creek, Vance, Concord.

USGS catalogues this as mine collapse, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 950 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 350,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 16,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 11,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.0 about 950 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. 5.1 Near Irondale, Alabama · 49 km ENE 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 33.3396, -87.1918. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Tuscaloosa County, AL 31 km (19 mi) W earthquakes near Tuscaloosa County
Jefferson County, AL 36 km (23 mi) NE earthquakes near Jefferson County
Bibb County, AL 36 km (23 mi) S earthquakes near Bibb County
Shelby County, AL 50 km (31 mi) E earthquakes near Shelby County
Walker County, AL 51 km (32 mi) NNW earthquakes near Walker County
Fayette County, AL 68 km (42 mi) NW earthquakes near Fayette County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 15 km W of Rock Creek, Alabama
  2. 2.1 11 km SSW of Tuscaloosa, Alabama
  3. 2.5 21 km W of Rock Creek, Alabama
  4. 2.3 21 km S of Berry, Alabama
  5. 2.7 22 km S of Oakman, Alabama
  6. 2.6 16 km S of Oakman, Alabama
  7. 2.5 20 km S of Oakman, Alabama
  8. 2.8 8 km W of North Johns, Alabama
  9. 3.0 7 km W of North Johns, Alabama

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.