Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 0.5ml
Earthquake near Tacoma, WA
USGS: 13 km SE of Carbonado, Washington
77 km (48 mi) SSE of Seattle, WA · 41 km (25 mi) SSE of Auburn, WA
- When
- 2:24 am PDT on 2 October 2026 ()
- Where
- 48 km (30 mi) SE of Tacoma, WA · earthquakes near Tacoma
- Magnitude
- M 0.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 12 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Pierce County, 17 km WNW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 8 hours ago
A magnitude 0.5 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) SE of Tacoma, WA, at 2:24 am PDT on 2 October 2026 (09:24 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Crocker, Buckley, Prairie Heights, Prairie Ridge, Orting, Enumclaw.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 0.19 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 1.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 78,000,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 55,000,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4,900× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 0.5 about 0.19 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 · 49 km W 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 46.9842, -121.9510. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pierce County, WA | 17 km (11 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Pierce County |
| Lewis County, WA | 55 km (34 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Lewis County |
| King County, WA | 57 km (35 mi) | N | earthquakes near King County |
| Thurston County, WA | 67 km (42 mi) | W | earthquakes near Thurston County |
| Kitsap County, WA | 90 km (56 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Kitsap County |
| Kittitas County, WA | 98 km (61 mi) | E | earthquakes near Kittitas County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
1 earthquake has been recorded within 50 km since this one.
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.