Unusually powerful M4.5 Earthquake struck on Wednesday Evening near San Antonio in The United States.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on January 30th, 2025.

Under land 46 miles from San Antonio in The United States, an unusually powerful M4.5 earthquake occurred in the evening of Wednesday January 29th, 2025. Roughly 8 million people may have felt this earthquake. Mexico is also near its epicenter.

Felt the earthquake? Share this article:

Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in The United States, 46 miles (74 km) east-southeast of San Antonio in Texas. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 2 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Jan 29, 2025 09:26PM (Chicago Time) - Jan 30, 2025 03:26 Universal Time.
Location:	46 mi ESE of San Antonio, Texas, The United States. Coordinates 29°4'41"N 97°50'42"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 4.5 Detected by 19 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.071 .
Depth:	2 mi (4 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 8 million people exposed to shaking

An estimated 8 million have been exposed to shaking (An MMI or Modified Mercalli Intensity level II or higher) as a result of this earthquake according scientific estimates published by the USGS.

An estimated 150 people were exposed to level V. At this level, moderate shaking and very light damage can be expected. Intensity level III was experienced by the majority of people (around 8 million). In their region, weak shaking and probably no damage can be expected. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Mexico .

Nearby towns and cities

The United States and Mexico are both located within 300km distance of the epicenter of the earthquake.

The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Seguin in Texas, The United States. Seguin is located 35 miles (56 km) south-southeast of the epicenter. The intensity of shaking and damage in Seguin is estimated to be around level III on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (weak shaking, probably no damage).

Multiple large cities are in proximity of today's earthquake. San Antonio is located 46 mi to the west-northwest and experienced an intensity of III (weak shaking, probably no damage). Houston is located 157 mi to the east-northeast (intensity unknown, possibly low). Austin is located 83 mi to the north and experienced an intensity of III (weak shaking, 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

Earthquake Intensity Map

The graph below overlays a map of the region around the epicenter with earthquake intensity data provided by the US Geographic Survey. The highest intensity level detected for this earthquake is V.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 1 smaller aftershock occurred. A 2.7 magnitude earthquake hit 3 hrs later 0.7 mi (1.2 km) south-east of this earthquake.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

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.

It's always adviced to be cautious of the risk of a larger shock following any significant earthquake, however this risk is fairly small. There is a roughly 94 percent change that no larger main shock will follow in the days following this earthquake.

This is an unusually powerful earthquake

Earthquakes of this strength are not so common in the region, but it's not the first time. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since February 17th, 2024, when a 4.7 magnitude earthquake hit 13 mi (20 km) further southwest. That was also the heaviest earthquake to hit the region in the past 10 years.

In total, 1 earthquake with a magnitude of 4.5 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 10 years.

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 30/01/25 17:28 (). 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 tx2025cbgl
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250130_0000032
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

Share this article: