QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Enumclaw, WA

No earthquake was likely felt in Enumclaw in the 24 hours to 9:07 pm PST (05:07 UTC). The last one was M 1.7, 12 km (8 mi) ESE, at 1:24 pm PDT on 8 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Enumclaw

No: USGS classifies this as a explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.6 explosion was recorded 13 km (8 mi) east-southeast of Enumclaw, WA, at 1:30 pm PST on 4 November 2026 (21:30 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 13 km ESE of Enumclaw, Washington

65 km (40 mi) SE of Seattle, WA · 33 km (21 mi) ESE of Auburn, WA

1:30 pm PST, Nov 4, 2026 · · -0.9 km deep · released about 7.8 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Pierce County 27 kmKing County 37 kmLewis County 77 kmThurston County 80 kmKitsap County 82 kmKittitas County 87 kmSnohomish County 100 kmMason County 104 kmYakima County 114 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
1:30 pm PST on 4 November 2026 ()
Where
13 km (8 mi) east-southeast of Enumclaw, WA · earthquakes near Enumclaw
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
-0.9 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Pierce County, 27 km WSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 6 days ago

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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Enumclaw, 13 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: Buckley, Prairie Heights, Black Diamond, Crocker, Prairie Ridge, Ravensdale.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.8 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 120× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.8 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 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.7 1 km ENE of Dash Point, Washington · 48 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.0 3 km WSW of Des Moines, Washington · 48 km WNW 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 47.1575, -121.8293. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Pierce County, WA 27 km (17 mi) WSW earthquakes near Pierce County
King County, WA 37 km (23 mi) N earthquakes near King County
Lewis County, WA 77 km (48 mi) SSW earthquakes near Lewis County
Thurston County, WA 80 km (50 mi) WSW earthquakes near Thurston County
Kitsap County, WA 82 km (51 mi) NW earthquakes near Kitsap County
Kittitas County, WA 87 km (54 mi) E earthquakes near Kittitas County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 0.2 12 km E of Ashford, Washington
  2. 0.6 17 km NE of Ashford, Washington
  3. 0.7 2 km SSW of Ashford, Washington
  4. 1.6 4 km NNW of Kapowsin, Washington
  5. 1.4 23 km ENE of Ashford, Washington
  6. 1.0 23 km ENE of Ashford, Washington
  7. 1.6 2 km SSW of Ashford, Washington
  8. 1.8 3 km SSW of Ashford, Washington
  9. 2.0 18 km ENE of Tanner, Washington
  10. 0.1 23 km ENE of Ashford, Washington
  11. 0.8 22 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.

On USGS

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