On Thursday Morning a Shallow M4.7 Earthquake struck near Salt Lake City in The United States.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on January 22nd, 2026. Last updated January 27th, 2026.

Under land 54 miles from Salt Lake City in The United States, a shallow M4.7 earthquake occurred in the morning of Thursday January 22nd, 2026. Shaking may have been felt by a total of 3.2 million people.

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Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in The United States, 54 miles (87 km) east-northeast of Salt Lake City in Utah. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 9 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Jan 22, 2026 07:49AM (Denver Time) - Jan 22, 2026 14:49 Universal Time.
Location:	54 mi ENE of Salt Lake City, Utah, The United States. Coordinates 40°54'38"N 110°52'28"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 4.7 Detected by 147 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.026 .
Depth:	9 mi (15 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 3.2 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 3.2 million have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

An estimated 10 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 2 million). In their region, weak shaking and probably no damage can be expected.

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in The United States . Located 51 miles (82 km) east-northeast of the epicenter of this earthquake, East Millcreek (Utah, The United States) is the nearest significant population center. The intensity of shaking and damage in East Millcreek is estimated to be around level III on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (weak shaking, probably no damage).

Major cities near this earthquake: Salt Lake City is located 54 mi to the west-southwest and experienced an intensity of III (weak shaking, probably no damage). West Valley City is located 61 mi to the west-southwest and experienced an intensity of III (weak shaking, probably no damage). West Jordan is located 60 mi to the west-southwest 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 intensity in shaking and damage by this earthquake is illustrated through the map below. The highest intensity measured 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

Since this main shock, 1 smaller aftershock was detected. Just 4 hrs after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-3 was detected 0.9 mi (1.5 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.

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

This is the strongest earthquake in 6 years

Earthquakes of this strength occur quite regularly in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since March 18th, 2020, when a 5.7 magnitude earthquake hit 64 mi (103 km) further west. That was also the heaviest earthquake to hit the region in the past 10 years.

In total, 4 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 3 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 27/01/26 00:08 (). 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 uu80127891
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20260122_0000265
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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