Earthquake near Fircrest, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Fircrest in the 24 hours to 6:12 pm PST (02:12 UTC). The last one was M 4.2, 24 km (15 mi) NW, at 2:05 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 9,329 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Fircrest

This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) north-northwest of Fircrest, WA, at 12:45 am PDT on 30 October 2018 (07:45 UTC), 57 km deep. 18 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 2 km NNW of Fircrest, Washington

6 km (4 mi) W of Tacoma, WA

12:45 am PDT, Oct 30, 2018 · 2018-10-30 07:45 UTC · 57 km deep · released about 530 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Fircrest Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area

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: 12:45 am PDT on 30 October 2018 (2018-10-30 07:45 UTC)
Where: 3 km (2 mi) north-northwest of Fircrest, WA · earthquakes near Fircrest
Magnitude: M 2.8 (ml)
Depth: 57 km below the surface
Felt: 18 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Measured shaking: intensity II (ShakeMap)
Nearest: Pierce County, 37 km SE
Nearest mapped fault: Tacoma fault, 5 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS 600 days ago · we first saw it 600 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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Fircrest, 3 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: University Place, Wollochet, Tacoma, Fox Island, Artondale, Gig Harbor.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 530 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 29,000× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 20,000× the energy of this one
Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.8× the energy of this one
This earthquake M 2.8 about 530 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 4.1 on 2017-02-23 — about 78 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

6.8 The 2001 Nisqually, Washington Earthquake · 19 km SW of this epicentre Feb 28, 2001
6.7 4 km WNW of Roy, Washington · 28 km S of this epicentre Apr 13, 1949
6.7 1 km ENE of Dash Point, Washington · 12 km NE of this epicentre Apr 29, 1965
6.1 Puget Sound region, Washington · 23 km NW of this epicentre Nov 13, 1939
5.8 Puget Sound area, Washington · 28 km W of this epicentre Feb 15, 1946

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

Map loads when it scrolls into view

Nearby places

Place	Distance	Direction from the epicentre
Pierce County, WA	37 km (23 mi)	SE	earthquakes near Pierce County
Thurston County, WA	42 km (26 mi)	SSW	earthquakes near Thurston County
Kitsap County, WA	43 km (27 mi)	NNW	earthquakes near Kitsap County
Mason County, WA	49 km (30 mi)	WNW	earthquakes near Mason County
King County, WA	59 km (36 mi)	ENE	earthquakes near King County
Lewis County, WA	77 km (48 mi)	S	earthquakes near Lewis County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

1.7 3 km ESE of Belfair, Washington 01:37 UTC
1.7 2 km NNW of Algona, Washington 03:09 UTC
1.9 2 km NNW of Algona, Washington 14:53 UTC
1.7 12 km SW of Seabeck, Washington 14:22 UTC
1.7 3 km WNW of Belfair, Washington 00:12 UTC
1.6 3 km W of Gorst, Washington 18:17 UTC
2.1 1 km NNW of Artondale, Washington 01:03 UTC
1.7 2 km N of Lakeland South, Washington 10:22 UTC
1.8 3 km E of Home, Washington 01:58 UTC
1.8 1 km S of Auburn, Washington 14:37 UTC
1.5 2 km S of Black Diamond, Washington 02:20 UTC
1.5 5 km SSW of Gorst, Washington 01:00 UTC
1.7 3 km ENE of Enetai, Washington 01:25 UTC
1.7 1 km SSE of Kapowsin, Washington 22:40 UTC
2.1 Puget Sound region, Washington 18:04 UTC

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 02:12 UTC. 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.