QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near East Port Orchard, WA

Yes. A magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 2 km (2 mi) WSW of East Port Orchard, WA, at 10:38 pm PDT on 14 May 2016 (05:38 UTC), 20 km deep.

This was on 14 May 2016. The latest near East Port Orchard: M 4.2 on 29 September 2026.

USGS: 2 km WSW of East Port Orchard, Washington

26 km (16 mi) WSW of Seattle, WA · 24 km (15 mi) W of Burien, WA

10:38 pm PDT, May 14, 2016 · · 20 km deep · released about 5.4 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near East Port Orchard Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kitsap County 14 kmMason County 43 kmKing County 62 kmPierce County 64 kmThurston County 66 kmIsland County 72 kmJefferson County 73 kmSnohomish County 90 kmGrays Harbor County 99 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
10:38 pm PDT on 14 May 2016 ()
Where
2 km (2 mi) WSW of East Port Orchard, WA · earthquakes near East Port Orchard
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
20 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kitsap County, 14 km N
Nearest mapped fault
Seattle fault, 5 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 569 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In East Port Orchard, 2 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: Bethel, Port Orchard, Parkwood, Navy Yard City, Bremerton, Rocky Point.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.4 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 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.8 The 2001 Nisqually, Washington Earthquake · 41 km S of this epicentre
  2. 6.7 1 km ENE of Dash Point, Washington · 28 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 Puget Sound region, Washington · 15 km SSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 Puget Sound area, Washington · 32 km SW of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 Eastern Olympic Peninsula, Washington · 41 km NW 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 47.5138, -122.6537. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kitsap County, WA 14 km (9 mi) N earthquakes near Kitsap County
Mason County, WA 43 km (27 mi) WSW earthquakes near Mason County
King County, WA 62 km (38 mi) E earthquakes near King County
Pierce County, WA 64 km (40 mi) SE earthquakes near Pierce County
Thurston County, WA 66 km (41 mi) SSW earthquakes near Thurston County
Island County, WA 72 km (45 mi) N earthquakes near Island County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 2 km E of Enetai, Washington
  2. 2.0 0 km SE of Enetai, Washington
  3. 1.5 0 km E of Enetai, Washington
  4. 3.3 1 km S of Enetai, Washington
  5. 2.0 6 km SSE of Port Ludlow, Washington
  6. 2.1 6 km N of Kingston, Washington
  7. 1.6 3 km SW of Seattle, Washington
  8. 1.5 6 km SW of Des Moines, Washington
  9. 1.8 6 km SW of Des Moines, Washington
  10. 1.5 3 km WNW of Wauna, Washington
  11. 2.0 13 km WNW of Belfair, Washington
  12. 4.1 11 km NE of Hoodsport, Washington
  13. 1.8 3 km ESE of Indianola, Washington
  14. 2.6 1 km NW of Wauna, Washington
  15. 2.6 3 km SSE of Fircrest, Washington

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.