Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.9mb_lg
Earthquake near Madison, OH
No earthquake was likely felt in Madison in the 24 hours to 3:24 am EST (08:24 UTC). The last one was M 2.0, 9 km (5 mi) WNW, at 6:12 pm EDT on 8 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 13 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Madison
This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 4 km (2 mi) southwest of Madison, OH, at 6:55 pm EST on 5 March 2026 (23:55 UTC), 4.9 km deep. 304 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 3 km SW of Madison, Ohio
58 km (36 mi) ENE of Cleveland, OH
- When
- 6:55 pm EST on 5 March 2026 ()
- Where
- 4 km (2 mi) southwest of Madison, OH · earthquakes near Madison
- Magnitude
- M 2.9 (mb_lg)
- Depth
- 4.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- 304 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Lake County, 11 km WNW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 172 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Madison, OH
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Madison, OH. 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 67 km (42 mi) from the epicentre. In Madison, 4 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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.
Likely felt in: Madison 4 km, intensity III · Painesville 14 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 680 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 22,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 16,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.4× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.9 about 680 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
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.0 on 2019-06-10 — about 45 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.0 4 km NNW of Chardon, Ohio · 13 km SSW 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 41.7437, -81.0786. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake County, OH | 11 km (7 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Lake County |
| Geauga County, OH | 28 km (18 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Geauga County |
| Ashtabula County, OH | 33 km (21 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Ashtabula County |
| Cuyahoga County, OH | 49 km (30 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Cuyahoga County |
| Trumbull County, OH | 55 km (34 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Trumbull County |
| Portage County, OH | 65 km (40 mi) | S | earthquakes near Portage County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
6 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 1 km W of North Perry, Ohio
- 2.0 3 km SE of Madison, Ohio
- 2.2 5 km W of Rock Creek, Ohio
- 2.1 2 km SE of Madison, Ohio
- 2.2 6 km SE of Madison, Ohio
- 2.3 4 km SE of Madison, 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
- 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.