Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.9ml
Earthquake near Sunnyside, WA
No earthquake was likely felt in Sunnyside in the 24 hours to 4:19 am PST (12:19 UTC). The last one was M 1.5, 8 km (5 mi) NE, at 11:23 am PST on 21 December 2023, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Sunnyside
This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 40 km (25 mi) southwest of Sunnyside, WA, at 3:34 pm PDT on 9 October 2018 (22:34 UTC), 18 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 14 km NW of Bickleton, Washington
55 km (34 mi) S of Yakima, WA
- When
- 3:34 pm PDT on 9 October 2018 ()
- Where
- 40 km (25 mi) southwest of Sunnyside, WA · earthquakes near Sunnyside
- Magnitude
- M 2.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 18 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity I
- Measured shaking
- intensity III (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Klickitat County, 38 km SW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Toppenish Ridge structures, 19 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 2883 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Sunnyside, WA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Sunnyside, WA. 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 26 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Sunnyside, 40 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.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 650 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 23,000× 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 1.5× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.9 about 650 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 46.1032, -120.4207. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Klickitat County, WA | 38 km (24 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Klickitat County |
| Yakima County, WA | 46 km (29 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Yakima County |
| Benton County, WA | 71 km (44 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Benton County |
| Sherman County, OR | 81 km (50 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Sherman County |
| Gilliam County, OR | 81 km (50 mi) | S | earthquakes near Gilliam County |
| Morrow County, OR | 99 km (61 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Morrow County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
52 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 0.9 22 km SSE of Harrah, Washington
- 2.1 12 km SSE of Bickleton, Washington
- 1.5 17 km SSE of White Swan, Washington
- 3.1 5 km WSW of Harrah, Washington
- 1.5 4 km SSW of Arlington, Oregon
- 1.7 20 km S of White Swan, Washington
- 1.7 1 km SSE of Goldendale, Washington
- 1.7 8 km N of Roosevelt, Washington
- 1.5 17 km NNE of Roosevelt, Washington
- 1.5 13 km NNE of Roosevelt, Washington
- 1.9 16 km ENE of Arlington, Oregon
- 2.0 8 km SSE of Bickleton, Washington
- 2.0 2 km SSE of Arlington, Oregon
- 1.8 19 km NW of Bickleton, Washington
- 2.0 3 km ESE of Goldendale, 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
- 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.