QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7ml

Earthquake near Norfolk, NE

No earthquake was likely felt in Norfolk in the 24 hours to 11:41 pm CST (05:41 UTC). The last one was M 5.0, 747 km (464 mi) SSW, at 5:21 am CDT on 23 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 499 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Norfolk

This page: a magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 33 km (20 mi) west of Norfolk, NE, at 10:20 am CST on 5 February 2025 (16:20 UTC), 5.0 km deep.

USGS: 8 km SSE of Tilden, Nebraska

10:20 am CST, Feb 5, 2025 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 340 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Madison County 18 kmAntelope County 31 kmPierce County 36 kmBoone County 38 kmPlatte County 51 kmStanton County 53 kmWheeler County 60 kmWayne County 62 kmNance County 66 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
10:20 am CST on 5 February 2025 ()
Where
33 km (20 mi) west of Norfolk, NE · earthquakes near Norfolk
Magnitude
M 2.7 (ml)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Madison County, 18 km ESE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 565 days ago

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 56 km (35 mi) from the epicentre. In Norfolk, 33 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: Battle Creek, Neligh.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 340 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 45,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 32,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.8× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.7 about 340 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 41.9778, -97.8051. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Madison County, NE 18 km (11 mi) ESE earthquakes near Madison County
Antelope County, NE 31 km (19 mi) NW earthquakes near Antelope County
Pierce County, NE 36 km (23 mi) NNE earthquakes near Pierce County
Boone County, NE 38 km (23 mi) SW earthquakes near Boone County
Platte County, NE 51 km (32 mi) SSE earthquakes near Platte County
Stanton County, NE 53 km (33 mi) E earthquakes near Stanton County

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

Aftershocks so far

No further 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.