explosion · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.4ml
Earthquake near Tumwater, WA
No earthquake was likely felt in Tumwater in the 24 hours to 9:46 pm PST (05:46 UTC). The last one was M 4.2, 46 km (29 mi) NNE, at 2:05 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 9,329 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Tumwater
No: USGS classifies this as a explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.4 explosion was recorded 15 km (9 mi) west-southwest of Tumwater, WA, at 12:11 pm PST on 5 November 2026 (20:11 UTC), less than 1 km deep.
USGS: 15 km WSW of Tumwater, Washington
92 km (57 mi) SW of Seattle, WA · 18 km (11 mi) WSW of Olympia, WA
- When
- 12:11 pm PST on 5 November 2026 ()
- Where
- 15 km (9 mi) west-southwest of Tumwater, WA · earthquakes near Tumwater
- Magnitude
- M 1.4 (ml)
- Depth
- -0.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Thurston County, 21 km E
- Nearest mapped fault
- Olympia structure, 17 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 4 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Tumwater, WA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Tumwater, 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 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: Rochester, McCleary, Olympia, Grand Mound, Tenino, Lacey.
USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 3.3 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.4 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 4,600,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 3,200,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 290× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.4 about 3.3 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 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.8 The 2001 Nisqually, Washington Earthquake · 35 km NE of this epicentre
- 6.7 4 km WNW of Roy, Washington · 39 km E of this epicentre
- 5.8 Puget Sound area, Washington · 38 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.8 8 km N of Satsop, Washington · 30 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.1 Olympic Peninsula, Washington · 35 km NW 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 46.9622, -123.0992. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thurston County, WA | 21 km (13 mi) | E | earthquakes near Thurston County |
| Mason County, WA | 44 km (27 mi) | N | earthquakes near Mason County |
| Grays Harbor County, WA | 58 km (36 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Grays Harbor County |
| Pacific County, WA | 69 km (43 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Pacific County |
| Lewis County, WA | 69 km (43 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Lewis County |
| Pierce County, WA | 72 km (45 mi) | E | earthquakes near Pierce County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
2 earthquakes have 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.