Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.8mb_lg
Earthquake near West Seneca, NY
No earthquake was likely felt in West Seneca in the 24 hours to 6:55 pm EST (23:55 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 191 km (119 mi) N, at 10:59 pm EST on 27 January 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 687 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near West Seneca
This page: a magnitude 3.8 earthquake was recorded in West Seneca, NY, at 6:15 am EST on 6 February 2023 (11:15 UTC), 5.7 km deep. 7,849 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 1 km NE of West Seneca, New York
7 km (4 mi) ESE of Buffalo, NY
- When
- 6:15 am EST on 6 February 2023 ()
- Where
- in West Seneca, NY · earthquakes near West Seneca
- New York today
- every earthquake in New York in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 3.8 (mb_lg)
- Depth
- 5.7 km below the surface
- Felt
- 7,849 reports · strongest reported intensity V
- Measured shaking
- intensity V (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Erie County, 12 km S
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 73 days ago
Earthquake alerts for West Seneca, NY
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near West Seneca, NY. 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 401 km (249 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: Sloan, Lackawanna, Cheektowaga, Blasdell, Buffalo, Depew.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 7.6 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 22,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 710× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.8 about 7.6 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 16× more
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 42.8605, -78.7853. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Erie County, NY | 12 km (7 mi) | S | earthquakes near Erie County |
| Niagara County, NY | 46 km (29 mi) | N | earthquakes near Niagara County |
| Wyoming County, NY | 49 km (30 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Wyoming County |
| Genesee County, NY | 51 km (32 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Genesee County |
| Cattaraugus County, NY | 70 km (43 mi) | S | earthquakes near Cattaraugus County |
| Orleans County, NY | 71 km (44 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Orleans County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
1 earthquake has 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.