Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.8ml
Earthquake near East Berlin, PA
No earthquake was likely felt in East Berlin in the 24 hours to 4:51 am EST (09:51 UTC). The last one was M 3.7, 207 km (129 mi) ENE, at 5:59 pm EDT on 5 April 2024, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 12,579 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near East Berlin
This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) east-southeast of East Berlin, PA, at 9:11 pm EDT on 14 September 2019 (01:11 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 42 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 5 km ESE of East Berlin, Pennsylvania
74 km (46 mi) NNW of Baltimore, MD · 39 km (24 mi) S of Harrisburg, PA
- When
- 9:11 pm EDT on 14 September 2019 ()
- Where
- 6 km (4 mi) east-southeast of East Berlin, PA · earthquakes near East Berlin
- Magnitude
- M 2.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 42 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- York County, 16 km E
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1556 days ago
Earthquake alerts for East Berlin, PA
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This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 62 km (39 mi) from the epicentre. In East Berlin, 6 km away, the estimate is intensity III (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Spring Grove, Abbottstown, Dover, Weigelstown, Shiloh, Lake Meade.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 490 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 31,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 22,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.9× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.8 about 490 lb of TNT
Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.
For this area
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.
Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.
Where
Epicentre 39.9253, -76.9128. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| York County, PA | 16 km (10 mi) | E | earthquakes near York County |
| Adams County, PA | 27 km (17 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Adams County |
| Cumberland County, PA | 40 km (25 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Cumberland County |
| Carroll County, MD | 41 km (26 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Carroll County |
| Dauphin County, PA | 55 km (34 mi) | N | earthquakes near Dauphin County |
| Lancaster County, PA | 58 km (36 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Lancaster County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
2 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.
On USGS
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.