Skip to content
Earthquakes Near Me / North Carolina

North Carolina Earthquakes: Recent Quakes and the Largest on Record

North Carolina averages 2.1 earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more a year (2016 to 2025), and the largest in the USGS catalog since 1900 is the M5.2 of February 21, 1916, near Asheville, North Carolina.

Live from the USGS

Earthquakes near Charlotte in the last 30 days

Every quake within 155 miles of Charlotte, North Carolina’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 Charlotte.

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.

North Carolina by the numbers

USGS catalog, read October 10, 2026
2.1
Quakes of M2.5+ a year
the average, 2016 to 2025
28th
Rank of 50 states
by quakes of M2.5+ a year
M5.2
Largest since 1900
February 21, 1916
0
M3+ in 2026
through October 10, 2026

North Carolina averages 2.1 earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more a year, counting 21 from 2016 to 2025, which ranks it 28th of the fifty states.

Since 1990

North Carolina earthquakes by year

The USGS catalog lists 10 earthquakes of magnitude 3 or more in North Carolina from 1990 to 2025. 2016 to 2025: 2; 2006 to 2015: 4.

Magnitude 3 and up in North Carolina, 1990 to 2025; the tallest bar is 1. From the USGS catalog, read October 10, 2026.
Advertisement
Since 1900

The 10 largest earthquakes in North Carolina

The largest earthquake in North Carolina in the USGS catalog since 1900 is the M5.2 of February 21, 1916, near Asheville, North Carolina. The most recent of magnitude 4 or more was the M5.1 of August 9, 2020, 4 km SE of Sparta, North Carolina.

  1. 1M5.2
    Near Asheville, North CarolinaFebruary 21, 1916
  2. 2M5.1
    4 km SE of Sparta, North CarolinaAugust 9, 2020, 2.5 mi (4 km) deep
  3. 3M4.0
    14 km SSW of Spruce Pine, North CarolinaMay 13, 1957, 3.1 mi (5 km) deep
  4. 4M3.9
    5 km ENE of Tate City, GeorgiaNovember 24, 1957
  5. 5M3.7
    Western North CarolinaAugust 26, 1916
  6. 6M3.7
    11 km WSW of Woodfin, North CarolinaJuly 2, 1957, 4.3 mi (7 km) deep
  7. 7M3.7
    3 km ESE of Hot Springs, North CarolinaAugust 25, 2005, 4.9 mi (8 km) deep
  8. 8M3.6
    4 km SSW of Bayboro, North CarolinaAugust 6, 1994, less than 1 km deep
  9. 9M3.5
    2 km NE of Barker Heights, North CarolinaMay 5, 1981, 6.3 mi (10 km) deep
  10. 10M3.5
    3 km SE of Lake Santeetlah, North CarolinaFebruary 18, 1988, 1.5 mi (2 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

North Carolina earthquake questions

Advertisement
Other states

Earthquakes in every state

Earthquakes near any ZIP code

More for North Carolina

More from MyWild

Earthquakes near any ZIP codeEvery quake around your own address in the last 30 days.North Carolina tornado seasonWhen tornadoes peak in the state.North Carolina radonRadon levels across the state and how to test.North Carolina well waterWhat to test a private well for.North Carolina river levelsLive gauges and flood stages.North Carolina fire dangerToday’s fire danger across the state.

Sources. The live list: the USGS FDSN event service. North Carolina’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. Charlotte: 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