On Monday Night a Shallow M4.5 Earthquake struck near Bellingham in The United States.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on March 3rd, 2025. Last updated March 15th, 2025.

Under land 18 miles from Bellingham in The United States, a shallow MAG-4.5 earthquake occurred in the early morning of Monday March 3rd, 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. Canada is also near its epicenter.

Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in The United States, 18 miles (29 km) southwest of Bellingham in Washington. 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:	Mar 3, 2025 05:02AM (Los Angeles Time) - Mar 3, 2025 13:02 Universal Time.
Location:	45 km ENE of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Coordinates 48°36'40"N 122°48'19"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 4.5 Detected by 109 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.2 .
Depth:	10 mi (16 km) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	V Moderate 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 under the sea.	Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 4.5. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 10 mi (16 km). 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 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 8 million have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is IV, which corresponds with light shaking and likely no damage. Roughly 278,500 people are expected to be exposed to this level. Intensity level III was experienced by a large group of people (around 4.3 million). In their region, weak shaking and probably no damage can be expected. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Canada .

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
2,128,000	I	Not noticable	None
3,099,000	II	Very weak	None
4,287,000	III	Weak	Probably none
278,500	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

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

Anacortes in Washington, The United States is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 11 miles (18 km) northwest of Anacortes. The intensity of shaking and damage in Anacortes is estimated to be around level IV on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (light shaking, likely no damage).

Multiple large cities are in proximity of today's earthquake. Vancouver is located 75 km to the north-northwest and experienced an intensity of III (weak shaking, probably no damage). Surrey is located 55 km to the north and experienced an intensity of III (weak shaking, probably no damage). Victoria is located 45 km to the west-southwest and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely 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

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place	Intensity (MMI)
11 mi (18 km) SE from epicenter	Anacortes Washington, The United States.	IV Light
18 mi (29 km) NE from epicenter	Bellingham Washington, The United States.	III Weak
23 mi (37 km) SSE from epicenter	Oak Harbor Washington, The United States.	III Weak
25 mi (41 km) ESE from epicenter	Mount Vernon Washington, The United States.	III Weak
41 km (25 mi) WSW from epicenter	Oak Bay British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
45 km (28 mi) WSW from epicenter	Victoria British Columbia, Canada.	IV Light
46 km (29 mi) N from epicenter	White Rock British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
49 km (30 mi) WSW from epicenter	Esquimalt British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
49 km (30 mi) NNW from epicenter	Tsawwassen British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
54 km (34 mi) WSW from epicenter	Colwood British Columbia, Canada.	IV Light
54 km (34 mi) WSW from epicenter	Langford British Columbia, Canada.	IV Light
55 km (34 mi) N from epicenter	Surrey British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
56 km (35 mi) N from epicenter	Langley British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
57 km (35 mi) NNW from epicenter	Ladner British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
60 km (37 mi) N from epicenter	Delta British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
63 km (39 mi) N from epicenter	Walnut Grove British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
64 km (40 mi) NE from epicenter	Abbotsford British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
67 km (42 mi) NNW from epicenter	Richmond British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
67 km (42 mi) N from epicenter	New Westminster British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
68 km (42 mi) N from epicenter	Pitt Meadows British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
42 mi (68 km) SE from epicenter	Arlington Washington, The United States.	III Weak
69 km (43 mi) NNE from epicenter	Maple Ridge British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
69 km (43 mi) NNE from epicenter	Mission British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
69 km (43 mi) WNW from epicenter	Duncan British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
69 km (43 mi) WNW from epicenter	North Cowichan British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
45 mi (72 km) SW from epicenter	Port Angeles Washington, The United States.	III Weak
73 km (45 mi) N from epicenter	Port Coquitlam British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
74 km (46 mi) N from epicenter	Burnaby British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
75 km (47 mi) NNW from epicenter	Vancouver British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
75 km (47 mi) N from epicenter	Coquitlam British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
75 km (47 mi) N from epicenter	Port Moody British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
48 mi (78 km) SE from epicenter	Marysville Washington, The United States.	II Weak
78 km (48 mi) NNW from epicenter	West End British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
81 km (50 mi) NNW from epicenter	North Vancouver British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
52 mi (83 km) SSE from epicenter	Mukilteo Washington, The United States.	II Weak
52 mi (83 km) SSE from epicenter	Everett Washington, The United States.	III Weak
53 mi (86 km) SE from epicenter	West Lake Stevens Washington, The United States.	III Weak
53 mi (86 km) SE from epicenter	Lake Stevens Washington, The United States.	III Weak
88 km (55 mi) NNW from epicenter	West Vancouver British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
88 km (55 mi) NE from epicenter	Chilliwack British Columbia, Canada.	III Weak
57 mi (91 km) SSE from epicenter	Picnic Point-North Lynnwood Washington, The United States.	II Weak
57 mi (92 km) SSE from epicenter	Eastmont Washington, The United States.	III Weak
58 mi (94 km) SSE from epicenter	Edmonds Washington, The United States.	II Weak
59 mi (95 km) SSE from epicenter	Lynnwood Washington, The United States.	II Weak
59 mi (95 km) SSE from epicenter	Mill Creek Washington, The United States.	II Weak
60 mi (96 km) SSE from epicenter	Silver Firs Washington, The United States.	II Weak
62 mi (99 km) SSE from epicenter	Mountlake Terrace Washington, The United States.	II Weak
62 mi (100 km) SSE from epicenter	North Creek Washington, The United States.	II Weak
73 mi (117 km) SSE from epicenter	Seattle Washington, The United States.
75 mi (120 km) SSE from epicenter	Bellevue Washington, The United States.
95 mi (153 km) S from epicenter	Tacoma Washington, The United States.

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.

Shaking reported by 1103 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 1103 people have reported shaking in 31 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:

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada: 409 people.
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: 250 people.
Sidney, British Columbia, Canada: 88 people.
Walnut Grove, British Columbia, Canada: 82 people.
Cowichan Valley, British Columbia, Canada: 41 people.
Sooke, British Columbia, Canada: 39 people.
White Rock, British Columbia, Canada: 35 people.
Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada: 28 people.
Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada: 24 people.
Parksville, British Columbia, Canada: 16 people.

Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 1 smaller aftershock occurred. Just 2 days after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-3.9 was detected 50 mi (80 km) south-southwest of this earthquake.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

Detected MAG2.5+ earthquakes within within 100km (62 mi), that occurred in the three days before and after the main shock.
Classification	Magnitude	When	Where
Main Shock This Earthquake	M 4.5	Mar 3, 2025 05:02AM (Los Angeles Time)	-
Aftershock	M 3.9	2 days later Mar 5, 2025 04:18PM (Los Angeles Time)	50 mi (80 km) SSW from Main Shock.

More earthquakes coming?

The risk of aftershocks decreases rapidly over time. Usually, aftershocks are at least one order of magnitude lower than a main shock.

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 21st, 2025, when a 4.8 magnitude earthquake hit 82 mi (132 km) further north-northwest. An even stronger magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck on November 26th, 2022.

In total, 6 earthquakes 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 2 years.

Sources

Last updated 15/03/25 00:08 (). 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.