Shallow M4.7 Earthquake struck on Sunday Afternoon near Susanville in The United States.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on December 29th, 2025.

In the late afternoon of Sunday December 28th, 2025, a shallow MAG-4.7 earthquake hit under land 9 miles from Susanville in The United States. Around 2 million people have been exposed to shaking.

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Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in The United States, 9 miles (15 km) north-northwest of Susanville in California. 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:	Dec 28, 2025 04:41PM (Los Angeles Time) - Dec 29, 2025 00:41 Universal Time.
Location:	9 mi NNW of Susanville, California, The United States. Coordinates 40°32'42"N 120°41'31"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 4.7 Detected by 15 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.2 .
Depth:	3 mi (5 km) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VII Very Strong 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 2 million people exposed to shaking

An estimated 2 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.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is V, which corresponds with moderate shaking and very light damage. Roughly 1,840 people are expected to be exposed to this level. The majority of people (roughly 1.7 million) live in an area exposed to level II, where very weak shaking and no damage is expected.

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in The United States . The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Susanville in California, The United States. Susanville is located 9 miles (15 km) north-northwest of the epicenter. The intensity of shaking and damage in Susanville is estimated to be around level V on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (moderate shaking, very light damage).

Multiple large cities are in proximity of today's earthquake. Sacramento is located 142 mi to the south-southwest (intensity unknown, possibly low). Reno is located 84 mi to the south-east and experienced an intensity of II (very weak shaking, no damage). Stockton is located 181 mi to the south (intensity unknown, possibly low).

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 VI.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Aftershocks detected

This main shock was followed by 1 smaller aftershock. Just 35 mins after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-2.5 was detected 0.4 mi (0.7 km) east of this earthquake.

This main shock was prefaced by 1 smaller foreshock. A 3.4 magnitude earthquake hit 3 days earlier nearby.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

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.

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 December 9th, 2024, when a 5.7 magnitude earthquake hit 130 mi (209 km) further south-east. An even stronger magnitude 6 earthquake struck on July 8th, 2021.

In total, 15 earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.7 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 8 months.

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 29/12/25 03:58 (). This article contains currently available information about the earthquake and is automatically composed. We continue to update this article up to a few days after the earthquake occurred.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake nc75287861
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20251229_0000008
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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