North Carolina

2.2 magnitude earthquake rattles North Carolina mountains, USGS says

A 2.2-magnitude earthquake hit the North Carolina mountains late Friday, July 11, 2025, government seismologists confirmed.
A 2.2-magnitude earthquake hit the North Carolina mountains late Friday, July 11, 2025, government seismologists confirmed. USGS

A 2.2-magnitude earthquake hit the North Carolina mountains late Friday, government seismologists confirmed.

The quake struck at 11:23 p.m. and was centered about 5.6 miles west of Rosman, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Rosman is a town of about 730 people in Transylvania County on the eastern boundary of Pisgah National Forest, 9 miles southwest of Brevard.

Charlotte is about 140 miles east of Rosman.

At least two people said on social media that they felt the earthquake, according to the USGS.

Earthquakes under 3.0 are considered weak on the earthquake magnitude scale and typically cause no damage. No damage was reported in the quake near Rosman.

On May 10, a 4.1 magnitude earthquake near the Tennessee-North Carolina border was felt as far east as Charlotte, the USGS reported.

That quake struck at 9:04 a.m. and was centered about 12 miles southeast of Greenback, Tennessee. That’s near North Carolina’s Nantahala National Forest.

This story was originally published July 12, 2025 at 11:32 AM.

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Joe Marusak
The Charlotte Observer
Joe Marusak has been a reporter for The Charlotte Observer since 1989 covering the people, municipalities and major news events of the region, and was a news bureau editor for the paper. He currently reports on breaking news. Support my work with a digital subscription
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