QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 0.4ml

Earthquake near South Hill, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in South Hill in the 24 hours to 3:53 pm PST (23:53 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 0.4 earthquake was recorded 39 km (24 mi) southeast of South Hill, WA, at 7:40 pm PDT on 30 October 2026 (02:40 UTC), 10 km deep.

USGS: 16 km NNE of Ashford, Washington

88 km (55 mi) SSE of Seattle, WA · 52 km (32 mi) SSE of Auburn, WA

7:40 pm PDT, Oct 30, 2026 · · 10 km deep · released about 0.1 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Pierce County 26 kmLewis County 48 kmKing County 68 kmThurston County 69 kmSkamania County 95 kmCowlitz County 96 kmKittitas County 98 kmKitsap County 100 kmYakima County 102 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
7:40 pm PDT on 30 October 2026 ()
Where
39 km (24 mi) southeast of South Hill, WA · earthquakes near South Hill
Magnitude
M 0.4 (ml)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Pierce County, 26 km NW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 13 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: Crocker, Eatonville.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 0.1 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 1.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 140,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 100,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 9,100× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 0.4 about 0.1 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 46.8827, -121.9248. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Pierce County, WA 26 km (16 mi) NW earthquakes near Pierce County
Lewis County, WA 48 km (30 mi) SW earthquakes near Lewis County
King County, WA 68 km (42 mi) N earthquakes near King County
Thurston County, WA 69 km (43 mi) W earthquakes near Thurston County
Skamania County, WA 95 km (59 mi) S earthquakes near Skamania County
Cowlitz County, WA 96 km (59 mi) SW earthquakes near Cowlitz County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 2 km SSW of Ashford, Washington
  2. 0.8 5 km W of Packwood, Washington
  3. 1.0 3 km SSW of Ashford, Washington
  4. 0.2 12 km E of Ashford, Washington
  5. 0.8 3 km SSW of Ashford, Washington
  6. 0.6 17 km NE of Ashford, Washington
  7. 0.7 2 km SSW of Ashford, Washington
  8. 1.6 4 km NNW of Kapowsin, Washington
  9. 1.4 3 km WNW of Packwood, Washington
  10. 1.4 23 km ENE of Ashford, Washington
  11. 1.0 23 km ENE of Ashford, Washington
  12. 1.6 2 km SSW of Ashford, Washington
  13. 1.8 3 km SSW of Ashford, Washington
  14. 0.7 3 km SSW of Ashford, Washington
  15. 0.1 23 km ENE 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.

Revisions

USGS refines a solution as more stations report. Every change we have seen is listed here.

What changedFromToWhen
location15 km NNE of Ashford, Washington16 km NNE of Ashford, Washington
longitude-121.93-121.92
latitude46.8846.88
depth10.8610.47
magnitude0.320.36

On USGS

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