QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5ml

Earthquake near Bethel, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Bethel in the 24 hours to 9:19 pm PST (05:19 UTC). The last one was M 4.2, 12 km (8 mi) SSW, at 2:05 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 9,329 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Bethel

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded in Bethel, WA, at 12:23 pm PDT on 9 May 2021 (19:23 UTC), 13 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 1 km E of Bethel, Washington

24 km (15 mi) SW of Seattle, WA · 21 km (13 mi) W of Burien, WA

12:23 pm PDT, May 9, 2021 · · 13 km deep · released about 150 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Bethel Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kitsap County 16 kmMason County 45 kmKing County 59 kmPierce County 60 kmThurston County 64 kmIsland County 74 kmJefferson County 77 kmSnohomish County 89 kmGrays Harbor County 101 km
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
12:23 pm PDT on 9 May 2021 ()
Where
in Bethel, WA · earthquakes near Bethel
Magnitude
M 2.5 (ml)
Depth
13 km below the surface
Felt
3 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Kitsap County, 16 km N
Nearest mapped fault
Seattle fault, 7 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 1557 days ago

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 18 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. 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.

Likely felt in: Bremerton 8 km, intensity II · Enetai 10 km, intensity II · Silverdale 18 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 150 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 72,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 6.5× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 150 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 280 times the energy of this one.

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

  1. 6.8 The 2001 Nisqually, Washington Earthquake · 39 km SSW of this epicentre
  2. 6.7 1 km ENE of Dash Point, Washington · 24 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 Puget Sound region, Washington · 14 km SW of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 Puget Sound area, Washington · 32 km SW of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 Eastern Olympic Peninsula, Washington · 45 km NW 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 47.4937, -122.6168. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kitsap County, WA 16 km (10 mi) N earthquakes near Kitsap County
Mason County, WA 45 km (28 mi) WSW earthquakes near Mason County
King County, WA 59 km (37 mi) E earthquakes near King County
Pierce County, WA 60 km (37 mi) SE earthquakes near Pierce County
Thurston County, WA 64 km (40 mi) SSW earthquakes near Thurston County
Island County, WA 74 km (46 mi) N earthquakes near Island County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 6 km SSW of Port Ludlow, Washington
  2. 1.6 1 km SW of Bothell East, Washington
  3. 1.9 6 km N of Brinnon, Washington
  4. 1.7 3 km WNW of Gorst, Washington
  5. 1.5 1 km WSW of Silverdale, Washington
  6. 1.5 2 km WNW of Gig Harbor, Washington
  7. 1.8 4 km SSW of Port Ludlow, Washington
  8. 1.6 6 km SW of Des Moines, Washington
  9. 1.9 1 km ESE of Esperance, Washington
  10. 1.6 7 km WNW of Gorst, Washington
  11. 1.5 7 km ENE of Allyn, Washington
  12. 1.8 5 km N of Lofall, Washington
  13. 1.5 3 km NNE of White Center, Washington
  14. 1.7 1 km NNE of Enetai, Washington
  15. 1.7 0 km NNE of Navy Yard City, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.