QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9ml

5 km NW of Inlet, New York

Yes. A magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 5 km NW of Inlet, New York, at 5:01 am EDT on 9 October 2020 (09:01 UTC), 5.4 km deep.

· 5.4 km deep · released about 21 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Herkimer County 24 kmHamilton County 31 kmLewis County 48 kmOneida County 77 kmSt. Lawrence County 80 kmFulton County 82 kmWarren County 85 kmEssex County 93 kmFranklin County 99 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
New York today
every earthquake in New York in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.9 (ml)
Depth
5.4 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Herkimer County, 24 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2154 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 20 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 21 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 710,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 500,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 45× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 21 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 43.7888, -74.8465. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Herkimer County, NY 24 km (15 mi) S earthquakes near Herkimer County
Hamilton County, NY 31 km (19 mi) ESE earthquakes near Hamilton County
Lewis County, NY 48 km (30 mi) W earthquakes near Lewis County
Oneida County, NY 77 km (48 mi) SW earthquakes near Oneida County
St. Lawrence County, NY 80 km (50 mi) NNW earthquakes near St. Lawrence County
Fulton County, NY 82 km (51 mi) SSE earthquakes near Fulton County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 13 km NE of Lyons Falls, New York
  2. 2.1 11 km NE of Lyons Falls, New York
  3. 1.8 9 km NE of Lyons Falls, New York
  4. 1.6 9 km E of Croghan, New York
  5. 1.7 17 km W of Old Forge, New York
  6. 1.6 18 km NE of Lyons Falls, New York
  7. 2.3 10 km ENE of Port Leyden, New York
  8. 2.3 9 km ENE of Port Leyden, New York

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.