April 29, 2003 Earthquake: Fort Payne,gaylesville,valley Head, Alabama, United States
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck Fort Payne,gaylesville,valley Head, Alabama, United States on April 29, 2003 at 08:59:39 UTC, 20 km below the surface.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- April 29, 2003
- Time
- 08:59:39 UTC
- Place
- Fort Payne,gaylesville,valley Head, Alabama, United States
- Magnitude
- 4.6 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 20 km (12 mi)
- Intensity
- 6 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 34.494° N, 85.629° W
- Country
- United States
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Slight damage (VI) at Fort Payne, Gaylesville and Valley
Head. Felt (V) at Bryant, Cedar Bluff, Collinsville,
Flat Rock, Fyffe, Geraldine, Henagar, Higdon, Ider,
Leesburg, Mentone, Rainsville and Sylvania. Felt in
parts of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana,
Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio,
South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. (reference #1053)
More
Significant earthquakes of 2003The 2000sEvery quake the USGS located in 2003Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 5703.