QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 0.2ml

Earthquake near South Hill, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in South Hill in the 24 hours to 7:06 am PST (15:06 UTC). The last one was M 4.2, 45 km (28 mi) NW, at 2:05 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 9,329 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near South Hill

This page: a magnitude 0.2 earthquake was recorded 42 km (26 mi) south-southeast of South Hill, WA, at 5:54 pm PDT on 5 October 2026 (00:54 UTC), 11 km deep.

USGS: 7 km NNE of Ashford, Washington

94 km (58 mi) SSE of Seattle, WA · 57 km (35 mi) SSE of Auburn, WA

5:54 pm PDT, Oct 5, 2026 · · 11 km deep · released about 0.062 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Pierce County 29 kmLewis County 41 kmThurston County 66 kmKing County 76 kmCowlitz County 88 kmSkamania County 88 kmYakima County 102 kmKittitas County 104 kmKitsap County 105 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
5:54 pm PDT on 5 October 2026 ()
Where
42 km (26 mi) south-southeast of South Hill, WA · earthquakes near South Hill
Magnitude
M 0.2 (ml)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Pierce County, 29 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 38 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. 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: Eatonville.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 0.062 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 1.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 240,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 170,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 15,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 0.2 about 0.062 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 46.8182, -121.9738. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Pierce County, WA 29 km (18 mi) NNW earthquakes near Pierce County
Lewis County, WA 41 km (25 mi) SW earthquakes near Lewis County
Thurston County, WA 66 km (41 mi) WNW earthquakes near Thurston County
King County, WA 76 km (47 mi) N earthquakes near King County
Cowlitz County, WA 88 km (54 mi) SW earthquakes near Cowlitz County
Skamania County, WA 88 km (55 mi) S earthquakes near Skamania 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.

  1. 0.8 3 km SW of Ashford, Washington
  2. 0.9 11 km SE of Ashford, Washington
  3. 1.8 4 km S of Carbonado, Washington
  4. 0.9 5 km S of Carbonado, Washington
  5. 0.8 9 km S of Morton, Washington
  6. 0.8 3 km SSW of Ashford, Washington
  7. 1.3 19 km E of Morton, Washington
  8. 0.2 26 km ENE of Ashford, Washington
  9. 0.5 14 km ENE of Ashford, Washington
  10. 0.8 9 km ENE of Enumclaw, Washington
  11. 1.3 22 km ENE of Ashford, Washington
  12. 1.0 22 km ENE of Ashford, Washington
  13. 0.8 13 km SE of Ashford, Washington
  14. 0.7 13 km SSE of Carbonado, Washington
  15. 0.6 3 km SW of Ashford, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.