Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.9ml
Earthquake near Centralia, WA
No earthquake was likely felt in Centralia in the 24 hours to 5:03 pm PST (01:03 UTC). The last one was M 4.2, 78 km (49 mi) NNE, at 2:05 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 9,329 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Centralia
This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 23 km (14 mi) southeast of Centralia, WA, at 1:01 pm PST on 19 November 2020 (21:01 UTC), 22 km deep. 7 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 1 km WSW of Onalaska, Washington
53 km (33 mi) S of Lacey, WA · 120 km (75 mi) SSW of Seattle, WA
- When
- 1:01 pm PST on 19 November 2020 ()
- Where
- 23 km (14 mi) southeast of Centralia, WA · earthquakes near Centralia
- Magnitude
- M 2.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 22 km below the surface
- Felt
- 7 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Measured shaking
- intensity II (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Lewis County, 28 km E
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2108 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Centralia, WA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Centralia, 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 21 km (13 mi) from the epicentre. In Centralia, 23 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: Napavine, Winlock, Chehalis, Fords Prairie.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 610 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 25,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 18,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.6× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.9 about 610 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 one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.2 23 km S of Morton, Washington · 46 km ESE 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 46.5708, -122.7377. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lewis County, WA | 28 km (17 mi) | E | earthquakes near Lewis County |
| Thurston County, WA | 41 km (26 mi) | N | earthquakes near Thurston County |
| Cowlitz County, WA | 42 km (26 mi) | S | earthquakes near Cowlitz County |
| Wahkiakum County, WA | 61 km (38 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Wahkiakum County |
| Pierce County, WA | 70 km (43 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Pierce County |
| Columbia County, OR | 75 km (46 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Columbia County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
49 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 10 km NE of Castle Rock, Washington
- 1.6 1 km W of Winlock, Washington
- 1.8 6 km NW of Winlock, Washington
- 1.8 10 km NE of Castle Rock, Washington
- 1.6 9 km NE of Castle Rock, Washington
- 1.9 3 km WNW of Winlock, Washington
- 1.7 11 km SSW of Morton, Washington
- 2.2 11 km SSW of Morton, Washington
- 2.0 Washington
- 1.5 3 km W of Winlock, Washington
- 1.6 15 km E of Castle Rock, Washington
- 1.9 14 km WSW of Alder, Washington
- 2.1 8 km SSW of Morton, Washington
- 2.0 21 km E of Castle Rock, Washington
- 1.7 3 km W of Winlock, 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.