QuakeIndex

Every recorded earthquake within 30 km

Earthquakes near Yelm, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Yelm in the 24 hours to 8:33 am PST (16:33 UTC). The last one was M 4.2, 52 km (32 mi) N, at 2:05 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 9,329 felt reports to USGS.

M 2.8

Latest: 10:52 pm PST on 7 January 2018 · 14 km (9 mi) ENE of Yelm, WA

The most recent earthquake of M2.5 or more near Yelm was M 2.8, 14 km (9 mi) ENE of Yelm, WA, at 10:52 pm PST on 7 January 2018, 64 km deep. 21 people reported feeling it to USGS. The estimated shaking in Yelm was intensity II (weak), felt by some people at rest indoors. 66 smaller earthquakes have been recorded near Yelm since; the newest is first in the list below.

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

Last 24 hours
0
Last 7 days
1
Last 30 days
2 · since 2016, about one every 2 months
Last 12 months
12 · largest M 2.1 on 22 September 2026
Since 2016
72 earthquakes of M1.5 or more within 30 km
Largest since 2016
M 2.8 on 7 January 2018, 14 km (9 mi) ENE of Yelm, WA
Reported felt
12 of them have felt reports to USGS
Nearest mapped fault
Olympia structure, 6 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. Too few days here have any earthquake at all to draw a normal range.

The latest 50

  1. 1.6 28 km (18 mi) ENE of Yelm, WA
  2. 1.6 26 km (16 mi) SSE of Yelm, WA
  3. 2.1 29 km (18 mi) ENE of Yelm, WA
  4. 1.8 27 km (17 mi) E of Yelm, WA
  5. 1.5 26 km (16 mi) ESE of Yelm, WA
  6. 1.7 28 km (17 mi) E of Yelm, WA
  7. 1.6 30 km (19 mi) E of Yelm, WA
  8. 1.6 29 km (18 mi) WNW of Yelm, WA
  9. 1.5 30 km (19 mi) E of Yelm, WA
  10. 1.5 27 km (17 mi) ENE of Yelm, WA
  11. 1.6 30 km (18 mi) E of Yelm, WA
  12. 1.8 8 km (5 mi) ESE of Yelm, WA · felt by 1
  13. 1.7 29 km (18 mi) SSW of Yelm, WA
  14. 1.5 28 km (17 mi) E of Yelm, WA
  15. 1.8 25 km (16 mi) SSE of Yelm, WA
  16. 1.6 29 km (18 mi) E of Yelm, WA
  17. 1.6 27 km (17 mi) E of Yelm, WA
  18. 1.6 24 km (15 mi) SSE of Yelm, WA
  19. 1.7 28 km (17 mi) E of Yelm, WA
  20. 1.6 29 km (18 mi) E of Yelm, WA
  21. 1.8 29 km (18 mi) E of Yelm, WA
  22. 1.9 27 km (17 mi) E of Yelm, WA
  23. 1.5 28 km (17 mi) E of Yelm, WA · felt by 1
  24. 1.6 28 km (17 mi) E of Yelm, WA
  25. 1.8 28 km (17 mi) E of Yelm, WA
  26. 1.6 12 km (7 mi) SE of Yelm, WA
  27. 1.8 11 km (7 mi) SE of Yelm, WA
  28. 1.7 28 km (17 mi) NNE of Yelm, WA · felt by 1
  29. 1.6 12 km (7 mi) SE of Yelm, WA
  30. 1.6 26 km (16 mi) SSE of Yelm, WA
  31. 1.7 10 km (6 mi) SE of Yelm, WA
  32. 1.5 30 km (19 mi) E of Yelm, WA
  33. 1.6 28 km (17 mi) ENE of Yelm, WA
  34. 1.7 28 km (18 mi) E of Yelm, WA
  35. 2.0 29 km (18 mi) ESE of Yelm, WA
  36. 1.8 10 km (6 mi) SE of Yelm, WA
  37. 2.4 29 km (18 mi) SSE of Yelm, WA · felt by 1
  38. 1.6 21 km (13 mi) SE of Yelm, WA
  39. 1.6 29 km (18 mi) E of Yelm, WA
  40. 1.8 26 km (16 mi) SE of Yelm, WA
  41. 1.6 29 km (18 mi) E of Yelm, WA
  42. 1.8 30 km (19 mi) ENE of Yelm, WA
  43. 1.6 28 km (18 mi) SSE of Yelm, WA
  44. 1.6 28 km (18 mi) E of Yelm, WA
  45. 1.7 28 km (17 mi) ENE of Yelm, WA
  46. 1.6 30 km (18 mi) E of Yelm, WA
  47. 1.5 28 km (17 mi) NNE of Yelm, WA
  48. 1.9 18 km (11 mi) NW of Yelm, WA
  49. 1.9 25 km (16 mi) SSE of Yelm, WA
  50. 1.6 21 km (13 mi) SE of Yelm, 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 Yelm time. Distances are from the town centre. Quakes USGS named after Yelm are listed even when they are further out.

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

On the map

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

Estimated shaking in Yelm

The strongest shaking in Yelm from a quake since 2016 is estimated at intensity II (weak), from the M 1.7 on 10 October 2024, 10 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 Yelm (est.)
M 1.7 10 kmII · Weak
M 1.9 18 kmII · Weak
M 2.0 9 kmII · Weak · felt by 3
M 2.4 29 kmII · Weak · felt by 1
M 1.8 10 kmII · Weak

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. 1 of these reaches 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 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km of Yelm:

  1. 6.8 The 2001 Nisqually, Washington Earthquake · 25 km NNW of Yelm
  2. 6.7 4 km WNW of Roy, Washington · 8 km N of Yelm
  3. 6.7 1 km ENE of Dash Point, Washington · 45 km NNE of Yelm
  4. 5.8 Puget Sound area, Washington · 44 km NNW of Yelm

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 26 km · Graham 27 km · Parkland 27 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.