QuakeIndex

Every recorded earthquake within 30 km

Earthquakes near McChord Air Force Base, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in McChord Air Force Base in the 24 hours to 1:32 am PST (09:32 UTC). The last one was M 4.2, 34 km (21 mi) NNW, at 2:05 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 9,329 felt reports to USGS.

M 2.9

Latest: 3:49 am PDT on 11 March 2026 · 28 km (17 mi) NW of McChord Air Force Base, WA

The most recent earthquake of M2.5 or more near McChord Air Force Base was M 2.9, 28 km (17 mi) NW of McChord Air Force Base, WA, at 3:49 am PDT on 11 March 2026, 25 km deep. 38 people reported feeling it to USGS. The estimated shaking in McChord Air Force Base was intensity II (weak), felt by some people at rest indoors. 17 smaller earthquakes have been recorded near McChord Air Force Base since; the newest is first in the list below.

No earthquake of M1.5 or more was recorded within 30 km (19 mi) of McChord Air Force Base in the last 24 hours.

Last 24 hours
0
Last 7 days
1
Last 30 days
1 · an average 30 days here since 2016: 1.4
Last 12 months
21 · largest M 2.9 on 11 March 2026
Since 2016
181 earthquakes of M1.5 or more within 30 km
Largest since 2016
M 3.2 on 17 March 2025, 27 km (17 mi) N of McChord Air Force Base, WA
Reported felt
54 of them have felt reports to USGS
Nearest mapped fault
Tacoma fault, 14 km from its surface trace

USGS · feed checked · newest earthquake in our database · this page · counts are earthquakes of M1.5 or more within 30 km (19 mi) of the town centre; shaking is estimated for the town centre with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses

If you felt one

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings or forecasts. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert and the MyShake app.

The last 30 days

Oct 14 Oct 29 Nov 12
Each mark is a day's largest quake within range; its size is the magnitude. The shaded band is the magnitude a day's largest quake normally falls in here (M1.6–M1.9), from this place's own 10-year record. A mark above the band is a bigger day than usual.

The latest 50

  1. 1.6 22 km (14 mi) SE of McChord Air Force Base, WA
  2. 2.1 23 km (14 mi) SE of McChord Air Force Base, WA
  3. 1.8 26 km (16 mi) SE of McChord Air Force Base, WA
  4. 1.9 29 km (18 mi) ENE of McChord Air Force Base, WA
  5. 1.7 26 km (16 mi) SE of McChord Air Force Base, WA
  6. 2.2 30 km (18 mi) NNW of McChord Air Force Base, WA · felt by 1
  7. 1.6 28 km (17 mi) SE of McChord Air Force Base, WA
  8. 1.7 14 km (8 mi) NNE of McChord Air Force Base, WA
  9. 1.5 28 km (17 mi) SE of McChord Air Force Base, WA
  10. 2.0 26 km (16 mi) ESE of McChord Air Force Base, WA · felt by 6
  11. 1.7 28 km (17 mi) SE of McChord Air Force Base, WA
  12. 1.5 24 km (15 mi) SE of McChord Air Force Base, WA
  13. 1.6 28 km (17 mi) SE of McChord Air Force Base, WA
  14. 1.6 22 km (14 mi) NE of McChord Air Force Base, WA
  15. 1.7 24 km (15 mi) N of McChord Air Force Base, WA
  16. 1.6 27 km (17 mi) SE of McChord Air Force Base, WA
  17. 1.5 27 km (17 mi) SE of McChord Air Force Base, WA
  18. 2.9 28 km (17 mi) NW of McChord Air Force Base, WA · felt by 38
  19. 1.5 19 km (12 mi) NNE of McChord Air Force Base, WA · felt by 1
  20. 1.8 24 km (15 mi) S of McChord Air Force Base, WA · felt by 1
  21. 1.5 25 km (16 mi) NNE of McChord Air Force Base, WA
  22. 1.7 28 km (17 mi) SE of McChord Air Force Base, WA
  23. 1.5 25 km (16 mi) SE of McChord Air Force Base, WA
  24. 1.6 27 km (17 mi) SE of McChord Air Force Base, WA
  25. 1.5 27 km (17 mi) NNE of McChord Air Force Base, WA
  26. 1.8 28 km (17 mi) SE of McChord Air Force Base, WA
  27. 1.5 28 km (17 mi) SE of McChord Air Force Base, WA
  28. 2.1 24 km (15 mi) NW of McChord Air Force Base, WA
  29. 1.6 25 km (15 mi) SE of McChord Air Force Base, WA
  30. 1.7 27 km (17 mi) SE of McChord Air Force Base, WA
  31. 1.7 25 km (15 mi) NNE of McChord Air Force Base, WA
  32. 1.6 28 km (17 mi) SE of McChord Air Force Base, WA
  33. 1.8 27 km (17 mi) SE of McChord Air Force Base, WA
  34. 1.9 26 km (16 mi) SE of McChord Air Force Base, WA
  35. 1.8 23 km (14 mi) NNE of McChord Air Force Base, WA · felt by 1
  36. 1.7 27 km (17 mi) SE of McChord Air Force Base, WA
  37. 3.2 27 km (17 mi) N of McChord Air Force Base, WA · felt by 1,291
  38. 1.5 25 km (16 mi) SE of McChord Air Force Base, WA · felt by 1
  39. 1.8 28 km (17 mi) SE of McChord Air Force Base, WA
  40. 1.6 26 km (16 mi) SE of McChord Air Force Base, WA
  41. 2.3 29 km (18 mi) NE of McChord Air Force Base, WA · felt by 6
  42. 1.9 10 km (6 mi) N of McChord Air Force Base, WA · felt by 1
  43. 1.8 25 km (16 mi) SE of McChord Air Force Base, WA
  44. 1.6 30 km (18 mi) S of McChord Air Force Base, WA
  45. 1.8 28 km (18 mi) S of McChord Air Force Base, WA
  46. 1.7 6 km (3 mi) NE of McChord Air Force Base, WA · felt by 1
  47. 1.6 29 km (18 mi) ESE of McChord Air Force Base, WA
  48. 1.6 30 km (18 mi) S of McChord Air Force Base, WA
  49. 1.7 29 km (18 mi) S of McChord Air Force Base, WA
  50. 1.7 28 km (18 mi) SE of McChord Air Force Base, WA

From the QuakeIndex database, which reads the USGS feed every 30 seconds and holds the USGS catalogue for the US from 2016 (M1.5+). Times are McChord Air Force Base time. Distances are from the town centre. Quakes USGS named after McChord Air Force Base are listed even when they are further out.

Show these earthquakes on your own site: a free card with the latest quakes near McChord Air Force Base, for a local news site, school or neighborhood page.

On the map

The white circle is McChord Air Force Base; dots are the 50 most recent earthquakes within 30 km. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Estimated shaking in McChord Air Force Base

The strongest shaking in McChord Air Force Base from a quake since 2016 is estimated at intensity II (weak), from the M 2.6 on 11 January 2017, 9 km away. Intensity II and III are felt by some people at rest indoors; IV by most people indoors; V and above wakes sleepers and moves objects.

MagnitudeWhenDistanceShaking in McChord Air Force Base (est.)
M 2.6 9 kmII · Weak · felt by 25
M 3.2 27 kmII · Weak · felt by 1,291
M 3.0 23 kmII · Weak · felt by 18
M 2.9 28 kmII · Weak · felt by 38
M 2.6 22 kmII · Weak · felt by 4

An estimate for the town centre from magnitude, depth and distance, with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses (Atkinson & Wald, 2007), on the Modified Mercalli scale. 3 of these reach intensity II or more in town, where people at rest start to notice. Ground conditions change it street by street. It describes the past, not a hazard.

Before 2016

The USGS record since 1900 lists 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km of McChord Air Force Base; the five largest:

  1. 6.8 The 2001 Nisqually, Washington Earthquake · 18 km W of McChord Air Force Base
  2. 6.7 4 km WNW of Roy, Washington · 16 km SSW of McChord Air Force Base
  3. 6.7 1 km ENE of Dash Point, Washington · 22 km NNE of McChord Air Force Base
  4. 6.1 Puget Sound region, Washington · 36 km NNW of McChord Air Force Base
  5. 5.8 Puget Sound area, Washington · 35 km WNW of McChord Air Force Base

USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900 to 2015. This is the record, not a forecast.

Nearest mapped faults

USGS Quaternary Fault and Fold Database. Near is not the same as on.

Nearby towns

Lakewood 5 km · Parkland 5 km · University Place 12 km · Tacoma 14 km · Puyallup 16 km · South Hill 17 km · Graham 17 km

Be ready

Earthquakes cannot be predicted, here or anywhere, so the useful step is the one taken beforehand. The advice below is from the agencies responsible for it.

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings or forecasts. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert and the MyShake app.