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Earthquakes Near Me / Kentucky

Kentucky Earthquakes: Recent Quakes and the Largest on Record

Kentucky averages 2.8 earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more a year (2016 to 2025), and the largest in the USGS catalog since 1900 is the M5.0 of July 27, 1980, 2 km SW of Sharpsburg, Kentucky.

Live from the USGS

Earthquakes near Louisville in the last 30 days

Every quake within 155 miles of Louisville, Kentucky’s largest city, newest first. For your own address, enter a ZIP code.

Within
Magnitude
Reading the USGS earthquake catalog for magnitude 2.5 and up within 155 miles of Louisville.

Live from the USGS earthquake catalog. Times are Eastern time; felt reports and the shaking level come from Did You Feel It? A new quake can take a few minutes to appear and its magnitude can be revised.

Kentucky by the numbers

USGS catalog, read October 10, 2026
2.8
Quakes of M2.5+ a year
the average, 2016 to 2025
23rd
Rank of 50 states
by quakes of M2.5+ a year
M5.0
Largest since 1900
July 27, 1980
0
M3+ in 2026
through October 10, 2026

Kentucky averages 2.8 earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more a year, counting 28 from 2016 to 2025, which ranks it 23rd of the fifty states.

Since 1990

Kentucky earthquakes by year

The USGS catalog lists 17 earthquakes of magnitude 3 or more in Kentucky from 1990 to 2025, the most in 1990 (3). 2016 to 2025: 5; 2006 to 2015: 2.

Magnitude 3 and up in Kentucky, 1990 to 2025; the tallest bar is 3. From the USGS catalog, read October 10, 2026.
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Since 1900

The 10 largest earthquakes in Kentucky

The largest earthquake in Kentucky in the USGS catalog since 1900 is the M5.0 of July 27, 1980, 2 km SW of Sharpsburg, Kentucky. The most recent of magnitude 4 or more was the M4.2 of November 10, 2012, 6 km W of Blackey, Kentucky.

  1. 1M5.0
    2 km SW of Sharpsburg, KentuckyJuly 27, 1980, 6.2 mi (10 km) deep
  2. 2M4.6
    New Madrid, Missouri regionNovember 4, 1903
  3. 3M4.6
    Near Clinton, KentuckyDecember 7, 1915
  4. 4M4.6
    KentuckySeptember 2, 1925
  5. 5M4.6
    6 km W of Owingsville, KentuckySeptember 7, 1988, 6.2 mi (10 km) deep
  6. 6M4.3
    New Madrid, Missouri regionNovember 27, 1903
  7. 7M4.3
    1 km ESE of Middlesboro, KentuckyJanuary 2, 1954
  8. 8M4.2
    6 km W of Blackey, KentuckyNovember 10, 2012, 11 mi (17 km) deep
  9. 9M4.0
    5 km NNE of Artemus, KentuckyJanuary 19, 1976, 3.1 mi (5 km) deep
  10. 10M4.0
    9 km NNW of Loyall, KentuckyAugust 17, 1990, less than 1 km deep

From the USGS ComCat catalog, every magnitude since 1900, read October 10, 2026. Each place links to the quake’s USGS page.

When it shakes

What to do in an earthquake

  1. 1

    Drop

    Drop where you are onto hands and knees.

  2. 2

    Cover

    Cover your head and neck with one arm and hand. If a sturdy table or desk is nearby, crawl underneath it for shelter. If no shelter is nearby, crawl next to an interior wall (away from windows). Stay on your knees; bend over to protect vital organs.

  3. 3

    Hold On

    Hold until the shaking stops. If under shelter, hold on with one hand and be ready to move with it when the shelter moves. If not under shelter, hold on to your head and neck with both arms and hands.

Ready.gov’s words, from Ready.gov: Earthquakes (updated Sep 9, 2026, read October 9, 2026). Practice it with The Great ShakeOut: Earthquake Drills.

A seismograph drum wrapped in paper with rows of ink traces, the pen drawing a new line as the drum turns
A seismogram being recorded by a seismograph at the Weston Observatory in Massachusetts. “Seismogram at Weston Observatory” by Z22, CC BY-SA 3.0
Questions

Kentucky earthquake questions

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Other states

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Earthquakes near any ZIP code

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Sources. The live list: the USGS FDSN event service. Kentucky’s counts and largest quakes: the USGS ComCat catalog, read October 10, 2026, counted inside the state’s Census boundary and within 150 km of its coast where USGS names the state. Louisville: the state’s most populous city in the Census Vintage 2024 estimates. Older years hold fewer small quakes because fewer instruments were listening.

Hero photograph: the San Andreas Fault across the Carrizo Plain. “Kluft-photo-Carrizo-Plain-Nov-2007-Img 0327” by Ikluft, CC BY-SA 4.0