Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.3mb_lg
Earthquake near Rockville, MD
No earthquake was likely felt in Rockville in the 24 hours to 3:30 am EST (08:30 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 30 km (18 mi) ENE, at 5:17 pm EDT on 27 October 2025, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1,228 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Rockville
This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded in Rockville, MD, at 12:51 am EST on 2 January 2024 (05:51 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 2,311 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 0 km WSW of Rockville, Maryland
23 km (14 mi) NNW of Washington, DC · in Rockville, MD
- When
- 12:51 am EST on 2 January 2024 ()
- Where
- in Rockville, MD · earthquakes near Rockville
- Magnitude
- M 2.3 (mb_lg)
- Depth
- 5.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 2,311 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Montgomery County, 7 km NNW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 379 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Rockville, MD
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Rockville, MD. 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 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 37 km (23 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: Derwood, North Bethesda, Garrett Park, Aspen Hill, Gaithersburg, Potomac.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 85 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 11× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.3 about 85 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 39.0810, -77.1615. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montgomery County, MD | 7 km (4 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Montgomery County |
| Falls Church city, VA | 22 km (14 mi) | S | earthquakes near Falls Church city |
| Arlington County, VA | 23 km (14 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Arlington County |
| District of Columbia, DC | 23 km (14 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near District of Columbia |
| Howard County, MD | 28 km (17 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Howard County |
| Fairfax city, VA | 28 km (17 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Fairfax city |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
2 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.