mine collapse · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.9mb_lg
Earthquake near Blairsville, PA
No earthquake was likely felt in Blairsville in the 24 hours to 7:30 am EST (12:30 UTC). The last one was M 4.8, 381 km (237 mi) E, at 10:23 am EDT on 5 April 2024, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 184,673 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Blairsville
No: USGS classifies this as a mine collapse, not an earthquake. A magnitude 2.9 mine collapse was recorded 7 km (5 mi) southeast of Blairsville, PA, at 12:30 am EDT on 6 October 2020 (04:30 UTC), 1.0 km deep. 10 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 5 km WSW of Bolivar, Pennsylvania
65 km (41 mi) E of Pittsburgh, PA
- When
- 12:30 am EDT on 6 October 2020 ()
- Where
- 7 km (5 mi) southeast of Blairsville, PA · earthquakes near Blairsville
- Magnitude
- M 2.9 (mb_lg)
- Depth
- 1.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 10 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Westmoreland County, 23 km WSW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2160 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Blairsville, PA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Blairsville, PA. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 67 km (42 mi) from the epicentre. In Blairsville, 7 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: Derry, Black Lick, Loyalhanna, Ligonier, Latrobe, Lawson Heights.
USGS catalogues this as mine collapse, not an earthquake.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 680 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 22,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 16,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.4× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.9 about 680 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 40.3800, -79.2074. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Westmoreland County, PA | 23 km (14 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Westmoreland County |
| Indiana County, PA | 32 km (20 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Indiana County |
| Cambria County, PA | 44 km (28 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Cambria County |
| Somerset County, PA | 47 km (29 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Somerset County |
| Armstrong County, PA | 53 km (33 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Armstrong County |
| Fayette County, PA | 63 km (39 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Fayette County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
No further 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.