Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Galax, VA
No earthquake was likely felt in Galax in the 24 hours to 9:15 am EST (14:15 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 15 km (9 mi) WSW, at 7:45 pm EST on 22 February 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 14 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Galax
This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 16 km (10 mi) south-southwest of Galax, VA, at 8:22 pm EDT on 30 March 2024 (00:22 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 8 km W of Lowgap, North Carolina
- When
- 8:22 pm EDT on 30 March 2024 ()
- Where
- 16 km (10 mi) south-southwest of Galax, VA · earthquakes near Galax
- North Carolina today
- every earthquake in North Carolina in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 3 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Alleghany County, 15 km WSW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 346 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Galax, VA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Galax, VA. No account or email needed.
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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Galax, 16 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: Sparta, Thurmond, Dobson, Cana.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 5.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.4 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 5.1 on 2020-08-09 — about 250,000 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 36.5235, -80.9659. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alleghany County, NC | 15 km (10 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Alleghany County |
| Galax city, VA | 16 km (10 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Galax city |
| Grayson County, VA | 26 km (16 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Grayson County |
| Surry County, NC | 28 km (17 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Surry County |
| Carroll County, VA | 31 km (20 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Carroll County |
| Wilkes County, NC | 39 km (24 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Wilkes County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
11 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 3 km WNW of Thurmond, North Carolina
- 2.2 9 km ESE of Independence, Virginia
- 2.2 7 km SSE of Sparta, North Carolina
- 2.1 4 km WSW of Lowgap, North Carolina
- 2.2 16 km E of Jefferson, North Carolina
- 2.0 8 km S of Sparta, North Carolina
- 2.2 7 km SSE of Sparta, North Carolina
- 2.2 6 km SSE of Sparta, North Carolina
- 2.1 1 km ESE of Sparta, North Carolina
- 2.3 5 km SE of Sparta, North Carolina
- 2.3 2 km E of Sparta, 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.