Earthquake Monitor
Live event feed
Sweeping the global network…
● Pulsing ring = published within the last 15 minutes.
Magnitude, depth and what they mean together
The authoritative USGS feed is queried in real time and edge-cached for a few minutes, so results are fresh yet fast anywhere on Earth.
Switch to the near-me scope to see only quakes within about 300 km of you, sorted by distance instead of time.
Color-coded magnitude blocks, depth, time stamps, fresh-event rings and tsunami flags let you judge every event in a second.
Understanding Earthquake Magnitude
Earthquakes happen constantly - most are far too small or too remote to feel. Magnitude is a logarithmic measure: each whole step means roughly 32 times more released energy. Quakes below magnitude 3 are rarely noticed outside seismographs; magnitude 5 events are felt across a region; magnitude 6 and above can damage buildings near the epicenter; magnitude 7+ events are major disasters capable of impact far beyond the rupture zone.
What this console shows
- 🌍 Every published quake worldwide, or only those within ~300 km of you
- 🎚️ A vertical magnitude spectrum from M2.5 (felt close by) up to M7+ (major events)
- ⏱️ Time since the event, hypocenter depth and official follow-up links
- 🌊 Tsunami evaluation flags issued with the event, plus a pulsing marker for anything fresher than 15 minutes
Depth matters as much as magnitude: a shallow M5 under a city is usually worse than a deep M6 beneath the ocean floor. When reviewing any quake here, check both numbers - and always follow official civil-protection guidance after a strong event.
Reading the ops console
- The badge shows moment magnitude; the subtitle shows time since publication and hypocenter depth in km.
- Tsunami flags come straight from USGS evaluation and mean agencies assessed tsunami potential - not that a wave is confirmed.
- Near-me mode rounds coordinates before querying, so nearby visitors share one cached answer.
Magnitude, depth and what they mean together
- Pick a scope - the whole world or quakes near your location.
- Choose a minimum magnitude on the spectrum; we pull the freshest USGS feed and cache it briefly.
- Browse color-coded quake rows with time, depth, distance and one-tap links to full details.
FAQ
Directly from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the global authoritative source for seismic events. We query their public feed live and cache results for five minutes so the list is always fresh without hammering their servers.
How soon after an earthquake does it appear here?USGS typically publishes preliminary events within minutes of detection. Magnitudes and locations are then reviewed and can be revised over the following hours, so early numbers may change slightly.
What do the magnitude colors mean?Each quake row carries a color bucket: grey/green for small quakes (below M4), yellow/orange for moderate ones (M4-6) which are widely felt, and red for strong events (M6+) that can cause damage. The colors help you scan severity at a glance, and events newer than 15 minutes pulse with a ring.
Why does the near-me scope need my location?To compute distances we need a rough position. Your browser asks for permission first, the coordinates are rounded before any lookup, nothing is stored, and denying permission simply falls back to the worldwide list.
Understanding Earthquake Magnitude
Earthquakes happen constantly - most are far too small or too remote to feel. Magnitude is a logarithmic measure: each whole step means roughly 32 times more released energy. Quakes below magnitude 3 are rarely noticed outside seismographs; magnitude 5 events are felt across a region; magnitude 6 and above can damage buildings near the epicenter; magnitude 7+ events are major disasters capable of impact far beyond the rupture zone.
What this console shows
- 🌍 Every published quake worldwide, or only those within ~300 km of you
- 🎚️ A vertical magnitude spectrum from M2.5 (felt close by) up to M7+ (major events)
- ⏱️ Time since the event, hypocenter depth and official follow-up links
- 🌊 Tsunami evaluation flags issued with the event, plus a pulsing marker for anything fresher than 15 minutes
Depth matters as much as magnitude: a shallow M5 under a city is usually worse than a deep M6 beneath the ocean floor. When reviewing any quake here, check both numbers - and always follow official civil-protection guidance after a strong event.
Related tools
Air Quality Index
Live AQI, PM2.5 and six pollutants for any city on Earth
Weather Forecast
Live 7-day forecast for any city — sky timeline, temperature curve and rain chances, updated every model run
Sun & Moon
Sunrise, sunset, day length and the live moon phase for anywhere on Earth — computed, not guessed