On Saturday Morning a Shallow M4.1 Earthquake struck near Knoxville in The United States.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on May 10th, 2025. Last updated May 18th, 2025.

Under land 29 miles from Knoxville in The United States, a shallow M4.1 earthquake occurred in the morning of Saturday May 10th, 2025. Roughly 12 million people may have felt this earthquake.

Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in The United States, 29 miles (47 km) south of Knoxville in Tennessee. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 15 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	May 10, 2025 09:04AM (New York Time) - May 10, 2025 13:04 Universal Time.
Location:	29 mi south of Knoxville, Tennessee, The United States. Coordinates 35°32'43"N 83°59'14"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 4.1 Detected by 70 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.037 .
Depth:	15 mi (25 km) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	V Moderate On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Tsunami very unlikely While this was a shallow earthquake, it appears to have occurred under land with a magnitude not strong enough to cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Minimal impact predicted

Based on scientific estimates by the US Geographic Survey (USGS), the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level GREEN (low). They expect an 69% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities, and a 98% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 10.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 96% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls no higher than 10 million USD.

Roughly 12 million people exposed to shaking

This earthquake may have been felt by around 12 million people. That is the expected population size of the area exposed to a level of shaking of II or higher on the Modified Mercalli scale according to the USGS.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is V, which corresponds with moderate shaking and very light damage. Roughly 4,590 people are expected to be exposed to this level. The majority of people (roughly 11 million) live in an area exposed to level III, where weak shaking and probably no damage is expected.

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
0	I	Not noticable	None
95,800	II	Very weak	None
10,880,000	III	Weak	Probably none
1,496,000	IV	Light	Likely none
4,590	V	Moderate	Very light
0	VI	Strong	Light
0	VII	Very Strong	Moderate
0	VIII	Severe	Moderate to heavy
0	IX	Violent	Heavy
0	X	Extreme	Very heavy

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in The United States . Located 15 miles (24 km) south of the epicenter of this earthquake, Maryville (Tennessee, The United States) is the nearest significant population center. Maryville experienced an earthquake intensity (MMI Scale) of roughly IV. That level implies light shaking and likely no damage.

Multiple major population centers exist within 300km of the earthquake that struck today. Knoxville is located 29 mi to the north and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage). Charlotte is located 178 mi to the east (intensity unknown, possibly low). Nashville is located 162 mi to the west-northwest (intensity unknown, possibly low).

An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below. If places don't have intensity data available, it likely means the experienced impact in those places was fairly small.

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place	Intensity (MMI)
15 mi (24 km) N from epicenter	Maryville Tennessee, The United States.	IV Light
25 mi (41 km) NNW from epicenter	Farragut Tennessee, The United States.	IV Light
29 mi (47 km) N from epicenter	Knoxville Tennessee, The United States.	IV Light
33 mi (53 km) NE from epicenter	Sevierville Tennessee, The United States.	IV Light
36 mi (58 km) NNW from epicenter	Oak Ridge Tennessee, The United States.	III Weak
57 mi (91 km) WSW from epicenter	Cleveland Tennessee, The United States.	III Weak
60 mi (97 km) NE from epicenter	Morristown Tennessee, The United States.	III Weak
76 mi (122 km) WSW from epicenter	East Brainerd Tennessee, The United States.	III Weak
77 mi (124 km) SW from epicenter	Dalton Georgia, The United States.	III Weak
78 mi (125 km) NE from epicenter	Greeneville Tennessee, The United States.	III Weak
78 mi (126 km) WSW from epicenter	East Chattanooga Tennessee, The United States.	III Weak
80 mi (129 km) WSW from epicenter	East Ridge Tennessee, The United States.	III Weak
81 mi (130 km) E from epicenter	Asheville North Carolina, The United States.	III Weak
82 mi (132 km) WSW from epicenter	Chattanooga Tennessee, The United States.	III Weak
87 mi (140 km) S from epicenter	Gainesville Georgia, The United States.	III Weak
93 mi (149 km) ESE from epicenter	Easley South Carolina, The United States.	III Weak
95 mi (153 km) WNW from epicenter	Cookeville Tennessee, The United States.	III Weak
95 mi (153 km) SSW from epicenter	Canton Georgia, The United States.	III Weak
99 mi (160 km) S from epicenter	Sugar Hill Georgia, The United States.	III Weak
99 mi (160 km) S from epicenter	Milton Georgia, The United States.	III Weak
102 mi (164 km) ESE from epicenter	Greenville South Carolina, The United States.	III Weak
103 mi (166 km) S from epicenter	Alpharetta Georgia, The United States.	III Weak
104 mi (168 km) SE from epicenter	Anderson South Carolina, The United States.	III Weak
104 mi (168 km) SSW from epicenter	Woodstock Georgia, The United States.	III Weak
106 mi (170 km) NE from epicenter	Kingsport Tennessee, The United States.	III Weak
106 mi (170 km) ENE from epicenter	Johnson City Tennessee, The United States.	III Weak
106 mi (170 km) S from epicenter	Johns Creek Georgia, The United States.	III Weak
107 mi (172 km) S from epicenter	Duluth Georgia, The United States.	III Weak
107 mi (173 km) ESE from epicenter	Greer South Carolina, The United States.	III Weak
107 mi (173 km) S from epicenter	Roswell Georgia, The United States.	III Weak
109 mi (175 km) ESE from epicenter	Mauldin South Carolina, The United States.	III Weak
109 mi (176 km) S from epicenter	Peachtree Corners Georgia, The United States.	III Weak
110 mi (177 km) S from epicenter	Lawrenceville Georgia, The United States.	III Weak
111 mi (179 km) SW from epicenter	Rome Georgia, The United States.	III Weak
111 mi (179 km) SSW from epicenter	Kennesaw Georgia, The United States.	III Weak
112 mi (181 km) S from epicenter	Dunwoody Georgia, The United States.	III Weak
114 mi (184 km) S from epicenter	Sandy Springs Georgia, The United States.	III Weak
114 mi (184 km) SSW from epicenter	Marietta Georgia, The United States.	III Weak
115 mi (185 km) SSE from epicenter	Athens Georgia, The United States.	III Weak
118 mi (190 km) S from epicenter	North Atlanta Georgia, The United States.	III Weak
118 mi (190 km) S from epicenter	Brookhaven Georgia, The United States.	III Weak
119 mi (191 km) SSW from epicenter	Smyrna Georgia, The United States.	III Weak
123 mi (198 km) ESE from epicenter	Spartanburg South Carolina, The United States.	III Weak
124 mi (199 km) NE from epicenter	Bristol Virginia, The United States.	III Weak
124 mi (200 km) SSW from epicenter	Mableton Georgia, The United States.	III Weak
126 mi (203 km) S from epicenter	Atlanta Georgia, The United States.	III Weak
137 mi (220 km) W from epicenter	Murfreesboro Tennessee, The United States.
157 mi (253 km) WSW from epicenter	Huntsville Alabama, The United States.
162 mi (261 km) WNW from epicenter	Nashville Tennessee, The United States.
171 mi (275 km) N from epicenter	Lexington Kentucky, The United States.
175 mi (282 km) N from epicenter	Lexington-Fayette Kentucky, The United States.
178 mi (287 km) E from epicenter	Charlotte North Carolina, The United States.

Earthquake Intensity Map

The intensity in shaking and damage by this earthquake is illustrated through the map below. The highest intensity measured for this earthquake is V.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Earthquake Intensity Map based on Shakemap Data provided by USGS.

Shaking reported by 6 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 6 people have reported shaking in 5 places, all within Canada.We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada: 2 people.
Frankford, Ontario, Canada: 1 person.
Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada: 1 person.
Milton, Ontario, Canada: 1 person.
Perth, Ontario, Canada: 1 person.

Risk of aftershocks?

This earthquake did not have any significant foreshocks nor aftershocks occurring within 100km (62 mi) of its epicenter.

Earthquakes can create aftershocks. These are generally at least 1 magnitude lower than any main shock, and as time passes the chance and strength of aftershocks decreases.

It's always adviced to be cautious of the risk of a larger shock following any significant earthquake, however this risk is fairly small. There is a roughly 94 percent change that no larger main shock will follow in the days following this earthquake.

Read: How to Stay Safe during an Earthquake (cdc.gov).

This is the strongest earthquake in 4 years

Earthquakes of this strength occur quite regularly in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since August 13th, 2021, when a 4.3 magnitude earthquake hit 55 mi (88 km) further west-northwest. An even stronger magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck on August 9th, 2020.

In total, 3 earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.1 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every 3 years.

Tsunami very unlikely

DISCLAIMER: We strongly suggest to closely monitor advice from local authorities with regards to tsunami risks. Our analysis is based on automatically collected data from external sources, and these might contain mistakes. In addition, earthquakes can cause landslides that may lead to a tsunami, or be a followed by another, potentially stonger, earthquake.

While MAG-6.5+ earthquakes may cause tsunami's, it appears that the epicenter of this earthquake hit under land. In addition, the reported depth is deeper than 100km, making the risk of a tsunami even less likely. However always stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Factor	Under Sea?	MAG-6.5 or stronger?	Shallow depth?
Explanation	Almost all tsunami's are caused by earthquakes with their epicenter under sea or very near the sea. However stay cautious in coastal areas as earthquakes on land may cause landslides into sea, potentially still causing a local tsunami.	Under MAG 6.5: Very unlikely to cause a tsunami. MAG 6.5 to 7.5: Destructive tsunami's do occur, but are uncommon. Likely to observe small sea level changes. MAG 7.6+: Earthquakes with these magnitudes might produce destructive tsunami's.	Most destructive tsunami's are caused by shallow earthquakes with a depth between 0 and 100km under the surface of the earth. Deeper tsunami's are unlikely to displace to ocean floor.
This Earthquake	Not this earthquake. This earthquake appears to have struck on land far from any coast.	Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 4.1. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 15 mi (25 km). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 18/05/25 00:08 (). As more information on this earthquake becomes available this article will be updated. This article is automatically composed based on data originating from multiple sources.