 The 2011 Virginia earthquake occurred on August 23 at 1 : 51 : 04 p.m. local time in the Piedmont region of the US state of Virginia . The epicenter , in Louisa County , was 61 km ( 38 mi ) northwest of Richmond and 8 km ( 5 mi ) south @-@ southwest of the town of Mineral . It was an intraplate earthquake with a magnitude of 5 @.@ 8 and a maximum perceived intensity of VII ( Very strong ) on the Mercalli intensity scale . Several aftershocks , ranging up to 4 @.@ 5 Mw in magnitude , occurred after the main tremor . 
