4.1 magnitude earthquake rattles Carolinas, including Charlotte area, USGS says

Joe Marusak, The Charlotte Observer on May 10, 2025

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A 4.1 magnitude earthquake near the Tennessee-North Carolina border on Saturday was felt as far east as Charlotte, government seismologists confirmed.

The quake struck at 9:04 a.m. and was centered about 12 miles southeast of Greenback, Tennessee, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. That’s near North Carolina’s Nantahala National Forest.

Charlotte is about 260 miles east of Greenback.

Numerous Charlotte residents said on social media that they felt a rumbling, as did others across the region.

Catawba County residents northwest of Charlotte felt the quake, according to the Catawba County News and Weather site.

“Felt my bed start shaking hard at 9:05 a.m.,” a Conover resident said on Facebook.

“Felt it in Gastonia,” a woman said. “Everything in my bedroom was rattling and shaking.”

A woman in Denver near Lake Norman said: “My whole house shook.”

Residents in Huntersville, Davidson, Mooresville, Sherrills Ford, Concord, Hickory and Rock Hill also confirmed feeling the quake, according to the USGS.

No damage was immediately reported. Damage typically occurs only above 4 or 5 magnitude, according to the USGS.

The area of eastern Tennessee is among the most active earthquake zones in the Southeast, according to the USGS.