QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Aloha, OR

No earthquake was likely felt in Aloha in the 24 hours to 12:50 pm PST (20:50 UTC). The last one was M 1.5, 5 km (3 mi) SSW, at 1:30 pm PDT on 11 June 2025, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Aloha

No: USGS classifies this as a explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.6 explosion was recorded 5 km (3 mi) south of Aloha, OR, at 1:30 pm PDT on 8 July 2024 (20:30 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 5 km S of Aloha, Oregon

20 km (13 mi) WSW of Portland, OR · 6 km (4 mi) SW of Beaverton, OR

1:30 pm PDT, Jul 8, 2024 · · -0.4 km deep · released about 7.6 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Washington County 21 kmMultnomah County 38 kmYamhill County 41 kmClark County 47 kmColumbia County 57 kmClackamas County 62 kmMarion County 65 kmTillamook County 69 kmPolk County 73 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
1:30 pm PDT on 8 July 2024 ()
Where
5 km (3 mi) south of Aloha, OR · earthquakes near Aloha
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
-0.4 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Washington County, 21 km NW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 857 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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Aloha, 5 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: Beaverton, King City, Tigard, Cedar Hills, Metzger, Garden Home-Whitford.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.6 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 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.6 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. 5.2 5 km E of Bridgeton, Oregon · 28 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 5.0 3 km SW of Portland, Oregon · 15 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 45.4483, -122.8795. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Washington County, OR 21 km (13 mi) NW earthquakes near Washington County
Multnomah County, OR 38 km (23 mi) ENE earthquakes near Multnomah County
Yamhill County, OR 41 km (25 mi) WSW earthquakes near Yamhill County
Clark County, WA 47 km (29 mi) NE earthquakes near Clark County
Columbia County, OR 57 km (35 mi) NNW earthquakes near Columbia County
Clackamas County, OR 62 km (39 mi) ESE earthquakes near Clackamas County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 2 km E of Amity, Oregon
  2. 3.2 5 km SE of Amity, Oregon
  3. 1.6 6 km S of Dayton, Oregon
  4. 1.6 6 km ESE of Molalla, Oregon
  5. 1.9 4 km NE of Lafayette, Oregon
  6. 1.8 6 km ESE of Molalla, Oregon
  7. 1.8 8 km SW of Scappoose, Oregon
  8. 2.2 2 km SSW of Banks, Oregon
  9. 2.0 3 km WSW of Dundee, Oregon
  10. 1.9 1 km NNW of Battle Ground, Washington
  11. 1.5 5 km E of Beavercreek, Oregon
  12. 2.1 7 km ESE of Molalla, Oregon
  13. 2.0 16 km W of Forest Grove, Oregon
  14. 1.5 1 km SSE of Hubbard, Oregon
  15. 1.8 5 km N of West Haven, Oregon

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.