QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3mb_lg

Ohio

Yes. A magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded in Ohio, 60 km (37 mi) NNW of Springfield, OH, at 2:41 pm EDT on 14 July 2020 (18:41 UTC), 9.8 km deep. 10 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

60 km (37 mi) NNW of Springfield, OH · 105 km (65 mi) WNW of Columbus, OH

· 9.8 km deep · released about 85 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Shelby County 13 kmAuglaize County 20 kmLogan County 27 kmAllen County 40 kmChampaign County 42 kmMiami County 42 kmHardin County 45 kmMercer County 48 kmDarke County 55 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
Magnitude
M 2.3 (mb_lg)
Depth
9.8 km below the surface
Felt
10 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Shelby County, 13 km SW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2244 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 36 km (22 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: Jackson Center, Anna, Botkins, Sidney, Lakeview, Russells Point.

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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 11× the energy of this one
  4. 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 lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.4 Near Anna, Ohio · 17 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.0 Near Anna, Ohio · 18 km WNW of this epicentre

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 40.4165, -84.0876. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Shelby County, OH 13 km (8 mi) SW earthquakes near Shelby County
Auglaize County, OH 20 km (12 mi) NW earthquakes near Auglaize County
Logan County, OH 27 km (17 mi) E earthquakes near Logan County
Allen County, OH 40 km (25 mi) N earthquakes near Allen County
Champaign County, OH 42 km (26 mi) SE earthquakes near Champaign County
Miami County, OH 42 km (26 mi) SSW earthquakes near Miami 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. 2.9 5 km W of Jackson Center, Ohio
  2. 2.4 3 km NW of Versailles, Ohio
  3. 2.4 3 km SW of Lima, Ohio

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.