explosion · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7ml
Earthquake near Centralia, WA
No earthquake was likely felt in Centralia in the 24 hours to 12:46 pm PST (20:46 UTC). The last one was M 4.2, 78 km (49 mi) NNE, at 2:05 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 9,329 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Centralia
No: USGS classifies this as a explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.7 explosion was recorded 17 km (10 mi) east of Centralia, WA, at 5:45 pm PDT on 23 October 2025 (00:45 UTC), less than 1 km deep.
USGS: 13 km N of Onalaska, Washington
39 km (24 mi) S of Lacey, WA · 107 km (66 mi) SSW of Seattle, WA
- When
- 5:45 pm PDT on 23 October 2025 ()
- Where
- 17 km (10 mi) east of Centralia, WA · earthquakes near Centralia
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (ml)
- Depth
- -0.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Thurston County, 28 km NNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Olympia structure, 20 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 384 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Centralia, WA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Centralia, 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 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 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Centralia, 17 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: Chehalis, Napavine, Fords Prairie, Tenino, Rainier, Grand Mound.
USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 10 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,500,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,000,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 92× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.7 about 10 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 one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.7 4 km WNW of Roy, Washington · 37 km NNE 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 46.6963, -122.7375. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thurston County, WA | 28 km (17 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Thurston County |
| Lewis County, WA | 30 km (19 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Lewis County |
| Cowlitz County, WA | 56 km (35 mi) | S | earthquakes near Cowlitz County |
| Pierce County, WA | 59 km (37 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Pierce County |
| Wahkiakum County, WA | 69 km (43 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Wahkiakum County |
| Mason County, WA | 80 km (50 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Mason County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
42 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 0.7 6 km SE of Mossyrock, Washington
- 1.0 6 km SE of McCleary, Washington
- 0.7 5 km SSW of Morton, Washington
- 1.0 4 km WSW of Mineral, Washington
- 1.2 12 km S of Rainier, Washington
- 1.1 5 km SW of Morton, Washington
- 1.5 5 km SSW of Morton, Washington
- 1.7 6 km W of Mossyrock, Washington
- 1.8 3 km SW of Kapowsin, Washington
- 1.6 6 km NE of Rochester, Washington
- 1.5 0 km NNW of Eatonville, Washington
- 1.7 1 km SW of Kapowsin, Washington
- 1.6 9 km S of Mossyrock, Washington
- 1.5 6 km NW of Winlock, Washington
- 1.7 1 km E of Oakville, 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.