Shallow M4.8 Earthquake hit near Vancouver in Canada on Friday Afternoon.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on February 21st, 2025. Last updated February 22nd, 2025.

Under land 52 kilometer from Vancouver in Canada, a shallow Magnitude 4.8 earthquake occurred in the early afternoon of Friday February 21st, 2025. The earthquake struck near a very densely populated region. The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake. Another country near the epicenter is The United States.

Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in Canada, 52 kilometer (32 mi) northwest of Vancouver in British Columbia. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 10 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Feb 21, 2025 13:26 (Vancouver Time) - Feb 21, 2025 21:26 Universal Time.
Location:	52 km NW of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Coordinates 49°37'51"N 123°32'2"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 4.8 Detected by 14 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.2 .
Depth:	10 km (6 mi) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VI Strong On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Potential tsunami risk The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Potential tsunami risk

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.

There is a potential tsunami risk in the aftermath of this earthquake, immediately evacuate to higher grounds away from coastal areas and monitor advice from local authorities. The US Geographic Survey organization has indicated a potential risk for tsunami's following this earthquake.

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	This earthquake appears to have struck on land near a coastal area (5 km from the sea).	Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 4.8. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 10 km (6 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

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 5.4 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 5.4 million 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 17,380 people. At V, it is the highest MMI level this earthquake has caused. The majority of people (roughly 3.6 million) live in an area exposed to level III, where weak shaking and probably no damage is expected. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Canada .

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
13,530	I	Not noticable	None
1,063,000	II	Very weak	None
3,633,000	III	Weak	Probably none
677,600	IV	Light	Likely none
17,380	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

2 countries can be found within 300km of the epicenter of this earthquake: Canada and The United States .

Located 28 kilometer (17 mi) west-southwest of the epicenter of this earthquake, Squamish (British Columbia, Canada) is the nearest significant population center. Squamish experienced an earthquake intensity (MMI Scale) of roughly IV. That level implies light shaking and likely no damage.

Multiple major population centers exist within 300km of the earthquake that struck today. Vancouver is located 52 km to the south-east and experienced an intensity of III (weak shaking, probably no damage). Surrey is located 78 km to the south-east and experienced an intensity of III (weak shaking, probably no damage). Burnaby is located 58 km to the south-east and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage).

A complete list of nearby places is included below. Estimated intensity data (MMI) sourced from a shake-map published by the US Geographic Survey is shown where available (cities without data probably experienced little impact).

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place	Intensity (MMI)
28 km (17 mi) ENE from epicenter	Squamish British Columbia, Canada.	IV Light
40 km (25 mi) SE from epicenter	West Vancouver British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
48 km (30 mi) SE from epicenter	West End British Columbia, Canada.	IV Light
48 km (30 mi) SE from epicenter	North Vancouver British Columbia, Canada.	IV Light
52 km (32 mi) SE from epicenter	Vancouver British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
58 km (36 mi) SE from epicenter	Burnaby British Columbia, Canada.	IV Light
59 km (37 mi) SSW from epicenter	Nanaimo British Columbia, Canada.	IV Light
59 km (37 mi) SSE from epicenter	Richmond British Columbia, Canada.	IV Light
64 km (40 mi) SE from epicenter	Port Moody British Columbia, Canada.	IV Light
65 km (40 mi) SE from epicenter	New Westminster British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
67 km (42 mi) SE from epicenter	Coquitlam British Columbia, Canada.	IV Light
68 km (42 mi) SSE from epicenter	Ladner British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
69 km (43 mi) SE from epicenter	Port Coquitlam British Columbia, Canada.	IV Light
71 km (44 mi) SE from epicenter	Delta British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
76 km (47 mi) SSE from epicenter	Tsawwassen British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
76 km (47 mi) SE from epicenter	Pitt Meadows British Columbia, Canada.	IV Light
78 km (48 mi) SE from epicenter	Surrey British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
81 km (50 mi) SE from epicenter	Maple Ridge British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
83 km (52 mi) SE from epicenter	Walnut Grove British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
86 km (53 mi) SE from epicenter	White Rock British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
87 km (54 mi) SE from epicenter	Langley British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
88 km (55 mi) S from epicenter	North Cowichan British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
95 km (59 mi) S from epicenter	Duncan British Columbia, Canada.	IV Light
101 km (63 mi) WSW from epicenter	Port Alberni British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
105 km (65 mi) ESE from epicenter	Mission British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
105 km (65 mi) W from epicenter	Courtenay British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
113 km (70 mi) SE from epicenter	Abbotsford British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
76 mi (123 km) SE from epicenter	Bellingham Washington, The United States.	III Weak
126 km (78 mi) ESE from epicenter	Chilliwack British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
130 km (81 mi) WNW from epicenter	Campbell River British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
131 km (81 mi) S from epicenter	Langford British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
132 km (82 mi) S from epicenter	Oak Bay British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
133 km (83 mi) S from epicenter	Esquimalt British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
133 km (83 mi) S from epicenter	Colwood British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
134 km (83 mi) S from epicenter	Victoria British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
88 mi (141 km) SSE from epicenter	Anacortes Washington, The United States.	III Weak
99 mi (160 km) SE from epicenter	Mount Vernon Washington, The United States.	III Weak
101 mi (162 km) SSE from epicenter	Oak Harbor Washington, The United States.	II Weak
104 mi (168 km) S from epicenter	Port Angeles Washington, The United States.	III Weak
118 mi (190 km) SSE from epicenter	Arlington Washington, The United States.	II Weak
126 mi (202 km) SSE from epicenter	Marysville Washington, The United States.	II Weak
129 mi (208 km) SSE from epicenter	Everett Washington, The United States.	II Weak
148 mi (238 km) SSE from epicenter	Kirkland Washington, The United States.
150 mi (242 km) SSE from epicenter	Seattle Washington, The United States.
152 mi (245 km) SSE from epicenter	Bellevue Washington, The United States.
256 km (159 mi) ENE from epicenter	Kamloops British Columbia, Canada.
160 mi (258 km) SSE from epicenter	Renton Washington, The United States.
167 mi (268 km) SSE from epicenter	Kent Washington, The United States.
169 mi (272 km) SSE from epicenter	Federal Way Washington, The United States.
171 mi (276 km) SSE from epicenter	Tacoma Washington, The United States.
292 km (181 mi) E from epicenter	Kelowna British Columbia, Canada.

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 VI.

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.

Shaking reported by 1828 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 1828 people have reported shaking in 37 places, all within Canada.We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: 755 people.
Walnut Grove, British Columbia, Canada: 233 people.
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada: 100 people.
Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada: 81 people.
Sechelt, British Columbia, Canada: 75 people.
Pemberton, British Columbia, Canada: 68 people.
Powell River, British Columbia, Canada: 60 people.
White Rock, British Columbia, Canada: 57 people.
Squamish, British Columbia, Canada: 44 people.
Whistler, British Columbia, Canada: 41 people.

Risk of aftershocks?

This earthquake did not have any significant foreshocks nor aftershocks occurring within 100km (62 mi) of its epicenter.

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.

The chance that a significant earthquake like this one is followed by an even larger earthquake is not so large. On average, scientists estimate a 94% chance that a major earthquake will not be followed by an even larger one. It is still adviced to be aware of this risk

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 November 26th, 2022, when a 4.9 magnitude earthquake hit 189 km (118 mi) further west-southwest. That was also the heaviest earthquake to hit the region in the past 10 years.

In total, 3 earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.8 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 3 years.

Sources

Last updated 22/02/25 11:58 (). 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.