QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Weare, NH

USGS: 4 km N of Weare, New Hampshire

29 km (18 mi) NW of Manchester, NH · 107 km (66 mi) NNW of Boston, MA

4:16 am EDT, Aug 18, 2016 · · 4.8 km deep · released about 5.4 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Merrimack County 19 kmHillsborough County 25 kmSullivan County 46 kmCheshire County 48 kmBelknap County 49 kmRockingham County 55 kmStrafford County 60 kmMiddlesex County 78 kmWindham County 81 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
4:16 am EDT on 18 August 2016 ()
Where
5 km (3 mi) N of Weare, NH · earthquakes near Weare
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
4.8 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Merrimack County, 19 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3609 days ago

A magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) N of Weare, NH, at 4:16 am EDT on 18 August 2016 (08:16 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Hopkinton, Henniker, Contoocook, Deering, Hillsborough, Goffstown.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.4 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 43.1374, -71.7396. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Merrimack County, NH 19 km (12 mi) NNE earthquakes near Merrimack County
Hillsborough County, NH 25 km (16 mi) S earthquakes near Hillsborough County
Sullivan County, NH 46 km (29 mi) WNW earthquakes near Sullivan County
Cheshire County, NH 48 km (30 mi) WSW earthquakes near Cheshire County
Belknap County, NH 49 km (31 mi) NNE earthquakes near Belknap County
Rockingham County, NH 55 km (34 mi) ESE earthquakes near Rockingham County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

34 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.5 2 km S of Bedford, New Hampshire
  2. 2.1 2 km NNW of Milford, New Hampshire
  3. 1.9 2 km N of Webster, New Hampshire
  4. 1.9 4 km ESE of Northfield, New Hampshire
  5. 1.5 5 km SSE of Boscawen, New Hampshire
  6. 1.5 6 km SE of New Hampton, New Hampshire
  7. 1.6 2 km S of Henniker, New Hampshire
  8. 2.0 2 km WNW of Loudon, New Hampshire
  9. 2.7 5 km SW of Chichester, New Hampshire
  10. 2.2 1 km W of Andover, New Hampshire
  11. 2.1 4 km SE of Warner, New Hampshire
  12. 1.9 0 km SW of Bow Bog, New Hampshire
  13. 2.3 3 km NNE of Antrim, New Hampshire
  14. 1.8 5 km NNW of Contoocook, New Hampshire
  15. 2.3 5 km NNW of Sanbornton, New Hampshire

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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.