Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.8ml
Earthquake near Richland, WA
No earthquake was likely felt in Richland in the 24 hours to 4:53 pm PST (00:53 UTC). The last one was M 1.8, 8 km (5 mi) W, at 3:22 pm PDT on 13 April 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Richland
This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 4 km (3 mi) south of Richland, WA, at 9:18 pm PDT on 19 April 2024 (04:18 UTC), 8.1 km deep. 354 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 4 km S of Richland, Washington
in Richland, WA
- When
- 9:18 pm PDT on 19 April 2024 ()
- Where
- 4 km (3 mi) south of Richland, WA · earthquakes near Richland
- Magnitude
- M 2.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 8.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- 354 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Measured shaking
- intensity III (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Benton County, 18 km W
- Nearest mapped fault
- Wallula fault system, 15 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 566 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Richland, WA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Richland, 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 28 km (17 mi) from the epicentre. In Richland, 4 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Tri-Cities, West Pasco, West Richland, Kennewick, Pasco, Benton City.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 550 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 28,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 19,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.7× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.8 about 550 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 46.2455, -119.2785. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benton County, WA | 18 km (11 mi) | W | earthquakes near Benton County |
| Franklin County, WA | 43 km (27 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Franklin County |
| Walla Walla County, WA | 61 km (38 mi) | E | earthquakes near Walla Walla County |
| Umatilla County, OR | 84 km (52 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Umatilla County |
| Morrow County, OR | 95 km (59 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Morrow County |
| Adams County, WA | 103 km (64 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Adams County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
33 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 11 km W of Highland, Washington
- 1.5 14 km NE of Hermiston, Oregon
- 1.8 4 km SSW of Wallula, Washington
- 2.1 2 km N of Highland, Washington
- 1.7 4 km ESE of Umatilla, Oregon
- 1.8 11 km W of Highland, Washington
- 1.7 12 km ENE of Hermiston, Oregon
- 2.0 7 km WNW of Highland, Washington
- 1.8 3 km SSW of West Richland, Washington
- 1.8 11 km SSW of Tri-Cities, Washington
- 2.8 5 km ESE of Benton City, Washington
- 2.0 4 km ESE of Umatilla, Oregon
- 1.9 4 km ESE of Umatilla, Oregon
- 2.0 16 km S of Mesa, Washington
- 1.7 10 km SW of Kennewick, 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.