Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.4ml
Earthquake near Seattle, WA
No earthquake was likely felt in Seattle in the 24 hours to 2:39 am PST (10:39 UTC). The last one was M 4.2, 37 km (23 mi) SW, at 2:05 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 9,329 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Seattle
This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 42 km (26 mi) northwest of Seattle, WA, at 7:15 pm PDT on 4 September 2020 (02:15 UTC), 20 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 5 km E of Quilcene, Washington
40 km (25 mi) NW of Seattle, WA · 35 km (22 mi) WNW of Shoreline, WA
- When
- 7:15 pm PDT on 4 September 2020 ()
- Where
- 42 km (26 mi) northwest of Seattle, WA · earthquakes near Seattle
- Magnitude
- M 2.4 (ml)
- Depth
- 20 km below the surface
- Felt
- 3 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Kitsap County, 23 km SSE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Seattle fault, 22 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 2186 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Seattle, WA
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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 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 6 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Seattle, 42 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: Lofall, Bangor Trident Base, Port Ludlow, Poulsbo, Seabeck, Suquamish.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 120 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 130,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 92,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 8.2× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.4 about 120 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 350 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.1 Puget Sound region, Washington · 47 km S of this epicentre
- 5.3 Eastern Olympic Peninsula, Washington · 15 km W 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 47.8217, -122.8010. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kitsap County, WA | 23 km (14 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Kitsap County |
| Island County, WA | 39 km (24 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Island County |
| Jefferson County, WA | 54 km (34 mi) | W | earthquakes near Jefferson County |
| Mason County, WA | 59 km (37 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Mason County |
| San Juan County, WA | 79 km (49 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near San Juan County |
| King County, WA | 81 km (50 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near King County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
60 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 0 km WSW of Parkwood, Washington
- 1.7 5 km NE of Kingston, Washington
- 2.5 1 km NE of Enetai, Washington
- 2.1 4 km NNW of Kingston, Washington
- 1.6 6 km NNE of Lofall, Washington
- 1.6 2 km WNW of Bethel, Washington
- 2.5 1 km E of Bethel, Washington
- 1.7 Puget Sound region, Washington
- 2.5 1 km E of Poulsbo, Washington
- 1.7 4 km SSE of Bainbridge Island, Washington
- 2.2 5 km SE of Bainbridge Island, Washington
- 1.8 4 km SSW of Port Ludlow, Washington
- 1.5 2 km ENE of Enetai, Washington
- 2.4 2 km NE of Indianola, Washington
- 2.3 1 km SSE of Enetai, 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.