Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.8ml
Earthquake near Seattle, WA
No earthquake was likely felt in Seattle in the 24 hours to 3:39 pm PST (23:39 UTC). The last one was M 4.2, 37 km (23 mi) SW, at 2:05 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 9,329 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Seattle
This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 32 km (20 mi) northeast of Seattle, WA, at 6:36 pm PDT on 30 May 2025 (01:36 UTC), 25 km deep. 35 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 4 km N of Echo Lake, Washington
13 km (8 mi) ENE of Bothell, WA · 32 km (20 mi) NE of Seattle, WA
- When
- 6:36 pm PDT on 30 May 2025 ()
- Where
- 32 km (20 mi) northeast of Seattle, WA · earthquakes near Seattle
- Magnitude
- M 2.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 25 km below the surface
- Felt
- 35 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Snohomish County, 33 km NE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Southern Whidbey Island fault, under 1 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 453 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Seattle, WA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Seattle, 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 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Seattle, 32 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.
Likely felt in: Monroe 7 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 420 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 36,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 26,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.3× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.8 about 420 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 4.6 on 2019-07-12 — about 540 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.4 8 km NNE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 14 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.2 9 km NE of Lake Marcel-Stillwater, Washington · 18 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.0 4 km ENE of Machias, Washington · 20 km N 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 47.8212, -122.0420. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snohomish County, WA | 33 km (21 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Snohomish County |
| King County, WA | 40 km (25 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near King County |
| Kitsap County, WA | 50 km (31 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Kitsap County |
| Island County, WA | 60 km (37 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Island County |
| Skagit County, WA | 77 km (48 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Skagit County |
| Pierce County, WA | 86 km (53 mi) | S | earthquakes near Pierce County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
59 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 2 km ENE of Snoqualmie, Washington
- 2.0 3 km S of Monroe, Washington
- 2.0 6 km SW of Clinton, Washington
- 2.1 7 km E of Tanner, Washington
- 1.5 4 km NW of Tulalip Bay, Washington
- 1.7 9 km NNE of Snoqualmie, Washington
- 1.6 2 km SSW of Clinton, Washington
- 3.0 4 km ESE of Cathcart, Washington
- 1.7 3 km SSW of Clinton, Washington
- 2.0 3 km SSW of Clinton, Washington
- 1.6 4 km E of Carnation, Washington
- 1.6 1 km E of Clyde Hill, Washington
- 1.7 11 km NNE of Snoqualmie, Washington
- 1.6 2 km E of Enetai, Washington
- 2.6 1 km ENE of Enetai, 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.