QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Lofall, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Lofall in the 24 hours to 12:51 am PST (08:51 UTC). The last one was M 4.2, 46 km (29 mi) S, at 2:05 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 9,329 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Lofall

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) north-northeast of Lofall, WA, at 10:54 am PDT on 13 May 2021 (17:54 UTC), 18 km deep.

USGS: 6 km NNE of Lofall, Washington

34 km (21 mi) NW of Seattle, WA · 24 km (15 mi) WNW of Shoreline, WA

10:54 am PDT, May 13, 2021 · · 18 km deep · released about 6.6 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kitsap County 25 kmIsland County 33 kmSnohomish County 67 kmJefferson County 68 kmMason County 71 kmKing County 72 kmSan Juan County 80 kmSkagit County 91 kmPierce County 97 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
10:54 am PDT on 13 May 2021 ()
Where
7 km (4 mi) north-northeast of Lofall, WA · earthquakes near Lofall
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
18 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kitsap County, 25 km S
Nearest mapped fault
Southern Whidbey Island fault, 10 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 613 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Lofall, 7 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: Hansville, Port Ludlow, Kingston, Poulsbo, Indianola, Suquamish.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 140× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.6 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 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.3 Eastern Olympic Peninsula, Washington · 30 km WSW of this epicentre
  2. 5.0 4 km ENE of Machias, Washington · 48 km ENE 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 47.8672, -122.6158. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kitsap County, WA 25 km (16 mi) S earthquakes near Kitsap County
Island County, WA 33 km (20 mi) N earthquakes near Island County
Snohomish County, WA 67 km (41 mi) ENE earthquakes near Snohomish County
Jefferson County, WA 68 km (42 mi) W earthquakes near Jefferson County
Mason County, WA 71 km (44 mi) SW earthquakes near Mason County
King County, WA 72 km (45 mi) SE earthquakes near King County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 1 km SW of Bothell East, Washington
  2. 1.9 6 km N of Brinnon, Washington
  3. 1.7 3 km WNW of Gorst, Washington
  4. 1.8 7 km ESE of Blyn, Washington
  5. 1.5 1 km WSW of Silverdale, Washington
  6. 1.8 4 km SSW of Port Ludlow, Washington
  7. 1.7 1 km NNW of Silvana, Washington
  8. 1.9 1 km ESE of Esperance, Washington
  9. 1.7 12 km NNW of Quilcene, Washington
  10. 2.2 1 km NNE of Cathcart, Washington
  11. 1.6 7 km WNW of Gorst, Washington
  12. 1.7 2 km S of River Road, Washington
  13. 1.8 5 km N of Lofall, Washington
  14. 1.9 8 km ENE of Port Townsend, Washington
  15. 1.5 3 km NNE of White Center, 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.