Shallow M4.2 Earthquake struck on Friday Evening near Carson City in The United States.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on October 28th, 2023. Last updated December 5th, 2023.

Under land 44 miles from Carson City in The United States, a shallow MAG-4.2 earthquake occurred in the evening of Friday October 27th, 2023. Roughly 550 thousand people may have felt this earthquake.

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Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in The United States, 44 miles (71 km) south-southeast of Carson City in Nevada. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 3 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Oct 27, 2023 10:40PM (Los Angeles Time) - Oct 28, 2023 05:40 Universal Time.
Location:	44 mi SSE of Carson City, Nevada, The United States. Coordinates 38°33'26"N 119°30'37"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 4.2 Detected by 58 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.2 .
Depth:	3 mi (5 km) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	V Moderate On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Tsunami very unlikely While this was a shallow earthquake, it appears to have occurred under land with a magnitude not strong enough to cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Minimal impact predicted

Based on scientific estimates by the US Geographic Survey (USGS), the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities, and a 96% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 10.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 96% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls no higher than 10 million USD.

Roughly 550 thousand people exposed to shaking

The USGS has published a report estimating the number of people exposed to this earthquake. Acoording to their analysis, roughly 550 thousand have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

Moderate shaking and very light damage may have been experienced by an estimated 0 people. At V, it is the highest MMI level this earthquake has caused. The majority of people (roughly 5.7 million) live in an area exposed to level I, where not noticeable and no damage is expected.

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in The United States . South Lake Tahoe in California, The United States is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 37 miles (59 km) south-east of South Lake Tahoe. South Lake Tahoe experienced an earthquake intensity (MMI Scale) of roughly II. That level implies very weak shaking and no damage.

Major cities near this earthquake: San Jose is located 155 mi to the west-southwest (intensity unknown, possibly low). San Francisco is located 167 mi to the west-southwest (intensity unknown, possibly low). Sacramento is located 107 mi to the west and experienced an intensity of I (not noticeable, no damage).

An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below. If places don't have intensity data available, it likely means the experienced impact in those places was fairly small.

Overview of nearby places

6 Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 6 smaller aftershocks occurred. At a distance of 0.3 mi (0.5 km) south-east of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 10 mins later. It measured a magnitude of 3.3

This main shock was prefaced by 1 smaller foreshock. Nearby this earthquake a foreshock struck 2 days earlier. It measured a magnitude of 2.5

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

Aftershocks are usually at least 1 order of magnitude less strong than main shocks. The more time passes, the smaller the chance and likely strength of any potential aftershocks.

In only six percent of cases, significant earthquakes are followed by a larger main shock, making the current earthquake a foreshock. While the chance of this happening is not so large, it is adviced to maintain cautiousness in the hours and days following a major earthquake.

Earthquakes like this happen often in the region

Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since September 19th, 2023, when a 4.5 magnitude earthquake hit 124 mi (200 km) further southwest. An even stronger magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck on May 15th, 2020.

In total, 105 earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.2 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every month.

Tsunami very unlikely

While MAG-6.5+ earthquakes may cause tsunami's, it appears that the epicenter of this earthquake hit under land. In addition, the reported depth is deeper than 100km, making the risk of a tsunami even less likely. However always stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Sources

Last updated 05/12/23 04:28 (). This article is automatically generated based on available data. We keep checking multiple sources for additional information. This article gets updated as new details on this earthquake become available.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake nc73952605
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20231028_0000051
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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