explosion · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.0ml
Earthquake near Ritzville, WA
No earthquake was likely felt in Ritzville in the 24 hours to 12:50 pm PST (20:50 UTC). The last one was M 1.9, 4 km (3 mi) ENE, at 12:09 pm PDT on 12 May 2025, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Ritzville
No: USGS classifies this as a explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 2.0 explosion was recorded 27 km (17 mi) north-northwest of Ritzville, WA, at 3:42 pm PDT on 15 April 2019 (22:42 UTC), less than 1 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 9 km E of Odessa, Washington
92 km (57 mi) WSW of Spokane, WA
- When
- 3:42 pm PDT on 15 April 2019 ()
- Where
- 27 km (17 mi) north-northwest of Ritzville, WA · earthquakes near Ritzville
- Magnitude
- M 2.0 (ml)
- Depth
- -0.5 km below the surface
- Felt
- 2 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Lincoln County, 30 km NNE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2768 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Ritzville, WA
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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 minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 16 km (10 mi) from the epicentre. In Ritzville, 27 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.
USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 31 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 480,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 340,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 31× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.0 about 31 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 47.3342, -118.5613. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln County, WA | 30 km (18 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Lincoln County |
| Adams County, WA | 36 km (22 mi) | S | earthquakes near Adams County |
| Grant County, WA | 70 km (43 mi) | W | earthquakes near Grant County |
| Whitman County, WA | 91 km (57 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Whitman County |
| Franklin County, WA | 92 km (57 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Franklin County |
| Spokane County, WA | 93 km (58 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Spokane County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
11 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 4 km ENE of Ritzville, Washington
- 1.6 15 km SW of Odessa, Washington
- 1.6 9 km W of Ritzville, Washington
- 1.5 24 km SSW of Odessa, Washington
- 2.0 7 km NE of Ritzville, Washington
- 2.1 12 km NW of Lind, Washington
- 1.8 1 km E of Davenport, Washington
- 1.8 10 km NE of Ritzville, Washington
- 2.0 13 km SW of Sprague, Washington
- 1.6 16 km WNW of Lind, Washington
- 2.1 13 km NW of Lind, 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.