QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4mb_lg

New York

Yes. A magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded in New York, 61 km (38 mi) SSW of Rochester, NY, at 8:41 pm EDT on 27 May 2021 (00:41 UTC), 5.3 km deep. 48 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

61 km (38 mi) SSW of Rochester, NY

· 5.3 km deep · released about 120 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Livingston County 11 kmWyoming County 32 kmAllegany County 47 kmGenesee County 48 kmOntario County 50 kmSteuben County 57 kmYates County 61 kmMonroe County 68 kmErie County 77 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 2.4 (mb_lg)
Depth
5.3 km below the surface
Felt
48 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Livingston County, 11 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 949 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 41 km (25 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Mount Morris, Nunda, Perry, Dansville, Geneseo, Wayland.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 120 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 130,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 89,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 7.9× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 120 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 42.6493, -77.8474. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Livingston County, NY 11 km (7 mi) NNE earthquakes near Livingston County
Wyoming County, NY 32 km (20 mi) W earthquakes near Wyoming County
Allegany County, NY 47 km (29 mi) SSW earthquakes near Allegany County
Genesee County, NY 48 km (30 mi) NW earthquakes near Genesee County
Ontario County, NY 50 km (31 mi) ENE earthquakes near Ontario County
Steuben County, NY 57 km (35 mi) SE earthquakes near Steuben County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 4 km N of Honeoye, New York
  2. 2.6 5 km SSW of Warsaw, New York
  3. 1.8 7 km SE of Alexander, 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.