Written by on . Last updated February 16th, 2025.

Under land 94 miles from Boise in The United States, a shallow Magnitude 4.2 earthquake occurred in the morning of Monday January 27th, 2025. Around 0.8 million people have been exposed to shaking.

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Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in The United States, 94 miles (151 km) north-east of Boise in Idaho. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 6 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time: Jan 27, 2025 09:32AM (Boise Time)
- Jan 27, 2025 16:32 Universal Time.
Location: 94 mi NE of Boise, Idaho, The United States.
Coordinates 44°24'24"N 114°40'5"W.
Map: Map of area around epicenter.
Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude: MAG 4.2
Detected by 74 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.165533 .
Depth: 6 mi (9 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 69% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities, and a 98% 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 0.8 million people exposed to shaking

The USGS has published a report estimating the number of people exposed to this earthquake. Acoording to their analysis, roughly 0.8 million have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

Light shaking and likely no damage may have been experienced by an estimated 30 people. At IV, it is the highest MMI level this earthquake has caused. Intensity level II was experienced by the majority of people (around 700 thousand). In their region, very weak shaking and no damage can be expected.

People MMI Level Shaking Damage
539,600
I
Not noticable None
699,600
II
Very weak None
103,000
III
Weak Probably none
30
IV
Light Likely none
0
V
Moderate Very light
0
VI
Strong Light
0
VII
Very Strong Moderate
0
VIII
Severe Moderate to heavy
0
IX
Violent Heavy
0
X
Extreme Very heavy

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in The United States . Boise in Idaho, The United States is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 94 miles (151 km) north-east of Boise. Boise experienced an earthquake intensity (MMI Scale) of roughly III. That level implies weak shaking and probably 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

Distance Place Intensity (MMI)
94 mi (151 km)
SW from epicenter
Boise

Idaho, The United States.
III
Weak
97 mi (156 km)
WSW from epicenter
Eagle

Idaho, The United States.
II
Weak
102 mi (164 km)
WSW from epicenter
Meridian

Idaho, The United States.
II
Weak
107 mi (173 km)
SW from epicenter
Kuna

Idaho, The United States.
II
Weak
112 mi (180 km)
WSW from epicenter
Nampa

Idaho, The United States.
I
Not felt
112 mi (181 km)
WSW from epicenter
Caldwell

Idaho, The United States.
I
Not felt
128 mi (206 km)
S from epicenter
Twin Falls

Idaho, The United States.
146 mi (235 km)
ESE from epicenter
Idaho Falls

Idaho, The United States.
149 mi (239 km)
ESE from epicenter
Rexburg

Idaho, The United States.
152 mi (244 km)
NE from epicenter
Butte

Montana, The United States.
I
Not felt
153 mi (247 km)
SE from epicenter
Pocatello

Idaho, The United States.
I
Not felt
173 mi (279 km)
N from epicenter
Missoula

Montana, The United States.
176 mi (284 km)
NW from epicenter
Lewiston Orchards

Idaho, The United States.
180 mi (289 km)
NW from epicenter
Lewiston

Idaho, The United States.
Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.

Earthquake Intensity Map

The intensity in shaking and damage by this earthquake is illustrated through the map below. The highest intensity measured for this earthquake is IV.

I Not felt
II Weak
III Weak
IV Light
V Moderate
VI Strong
VII Very Strong
VIII Severe
IX Violent
X Extreme
Earthquake Intensity Map based on Shakemap Data provided by USGS.

3 Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 3 smaller aftershocks occurred. Just 21 hrs after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-3 was detected 21 mi (34 km) west-southwest of this earthquake.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

Classification Magnitude When Where
Main Shock
This Earthquake
M 4.2 Jan 27, 2025 09:32AM
(Boise Time)
-
Aftershock M 3.0 21 hrs later
Jan 28, 2025 06:25AM (Boise Time)
21 mi (34 km)
WSW from Main Shock.
Aftershock M 2.5 2 days later
Jan 28, 2025 09:53PM (Boise Time)
9 mi (15 km)
WSW from Main Shock.
Aftershock M 2.8 2 days later
Jan 29, 2025 09:52AM (Boise Time)
2.9 mi (5 km)
SSW from Main Shock.
Detected MAG2.5+ earthquakes within within 100km (62 mi), that occurred in the three days before and after the main shock.

More earthquakes coming?

Earthquakes can create aftershocks. These are generally at least 1 magnitude lower than any main shock, and as time passes the chance and strength of aftershocks decreases.

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.

Read: How to Stay Safe during an Earthquake (cdc.gov).

Earthquakes like this are common in the region

Earthquakes of this strength occur quite regularly in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since February 26th, 2024, when a 4.9 magnitude earthquake hit 71 mi (115 km) further west. An even stronger magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck on March 31st, 2020.

In total, 11 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 year.

Tsunami very unlikely

DISCLAIMER: We strongly suggest to closely monitor advice from local authorities with regards to tsunami risks. Our analysis is based on automatically collected data from external sources, and these might contain mistakes. In addition, earthquakes can cause landslides that may lead to a tsunami, or be a followed by another, potentially stonger, earthquake.

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

Factor Under Sea? MAG-6.5 or stronger? Shallow depth?
Explanation Almost all tsunami's are caused by earthquakes with their epicenter under sea or very near the sea. However stay cautious in coastal areas as earthquakes on land may cause landslides into sea, potentially still causing a local tsunami. Under MAG 6.5: Very unlikely to cause a tsunami.
MAG 6.5 to 7.5: Destructive tsunami's do occur, but are uncommon. Likely to observe small sea level changes.
MAG 7.6+: Earthquakes with these magnitudes might produce destructive tsunami's.
Most destructive tsunami's are caused by shallow earthquakes with a depth between 0 and 100km under the surface of the earth. Deeper tsunami's are unlikely to displace to ocean floor.
This Earthquake Not this earthquake.
This earthquake appears to have struck on land far from any coast.
Not this earthquake.
This earthquake had a magnitude of 4.2. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.
This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 6 mi (9 km). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 16/02/25 00:28 (). As more information on this earthquake becomes available this article will be updated. This article is automatically composed based on data originating from multiple sources.

  1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000pmkg
  2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250127_0000190
  3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
  4. Google Maps: Static API
  5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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