QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0ml

Earthquake near Hanover, NH

No earthquake was likely felt in Hanover in the 24 hours to 1:33 am EST (06:33 UTC). The last one was M 3.8, 156 km (97 mi) ESE, at 10:22 am EST on 27 January 2025, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 42,440 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Hanover

This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) east-northeast of Hanover, NH, at 8:04 pm EST on 14 November 2020 (01:04 UTC), 7.3 km deep. 129 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 8 km ENE of Hanover, New Hampshire

8:04 pm EST, Nov 14, 2020 · · 7.3 km deep · released about 30 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Orange County 32 kmGrafton County 35 kmWindsor County 37 kmSullivan County 42 kmMerrimack County 65 kmBelknap County 67 kmWashington County 67 kmRutland County 70 kmCaledonia County 81 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
8:04 pm EST on 14 November 2020 ()
Where
8 km (5 mi) east-northeast of Hanover, NH · earthquakes near Hanover
Magnitude
M 2.0 (ml)
Depth
7.3 km below the surface
Felt
129 reports · strongest reported intensity V
Nearest
Orange County, 32 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2116 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 23 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In Hanover, 8 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). 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: Lyme, Wilder, Lebanon, Enfield, White River Junction, Hartford.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 30 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 350,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 32× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 30 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 43.7431, -72.2039. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Orange County, VT 32 km (20 mi) NNW earthquakes near Orange County
Grafton County, NH 35 km (22 mi) NE earthquakes near Grafton County
Windsor County, VT 37 km (23 mi) WSW earthquakes near Windsor County
Sullivan County, NH 42 km (26 mi) S earthquakes near Sullivan County
Merrimack County, NH 65 km (40 mi) SE earthquakes near Merrimack County
Belknap County, NH 67 km (42 mi) ESE earthquakes near Belknap County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.6 3 km SE of Haverhill, New Hampshire
  2. 2.2 1 km W of Andover, New Hampshire
  3. 1.5 4 km WSW of North Woodstock, New Hampshire
  4. 2.3 3 km N of Quechee, Vermont

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.