What makes an earthquake "significant"?

  1. 6.320 km NE of Esmeraldas, Ecuador
    2025-04-25 11:44:55 UTC35.0 km
  2. 6.221 km SE of Marmara Ereğlisi, Turkey
    2025-04-23 09:49:10 UTC10.0 km
  3. 4.56 km N of Willow, Alaska
    2025-04-23 00:24:51 UTC26.1 km
  4. 5.126 km SW of Singleton, Australia
    2025-04-22 16:55:03 UTC10.0 km
  5. 4.320 km W of Beluga, Alaska
    2025-04-19 07:18:55 UTC83.3 km
  6. 6.6southeast Indian Ridge
    2025-04-16 01:42:59 UTC10.0 km
  7. 4.04 km SSE of Julian, CA
    2025-04-14 18:23:42 UTC12.6 km
  8. 5.25 km S of Julian, CA
    2025-04-14 17:08:28 UTC14.3 km
  9. 6.5south of the Fiji Islands
    2025-04-13 20:03:22 UTC271.0 km
  10. 5.836 km E of Rasht, Tajikistan
    2025-04-13 04:24:01 UTC8.0 km
  11. 5.534 km NNE of Meiktila, Burma (Myanmar)
    2025-04-13 02:24:57 UTC7.7 km
  12. 6.9181 km ESE of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea
    2025-04-04 20:04:38 UTC10.0 km
  13. 6.9Reykjanes Ridge
    2025-04-03 14:09:29 UTC10.0 km
  14. 6.254 km ENE of Nishinoomote, Japan
    2025-04-02 14:03:57 UTC26.0 km
  15. 6.3Pacific-Antarctic Ridge
    2025-04-02 00:29:22 UTC10.0 km
  16. 7.061 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga
    2025-03-30 12:18:50 UTC29.0 km
  17. 6.6central Mid-Atlantic Ridge
    2025-03-28 17:17:27 UTC12.3 km
  18. 6.7Burma (Myanmar)
    2025-03-28 06:32:04 UTC10.0 km
  19. 7.72025 Mandalay, Burma (Myanmar) Earthquake
    2025-03-28 06:20:52 UTC10.0 km
  20. 6.7170 km WSW of Riverton, New Zealand
    2025-03-25 01:43:11 UTC21.0 km
  21. 6.2123 km SSE of Burica, Panama
    2025-03-21 14:50:51 UTC10.0 km
  22. 3.95 km WNW of Dublin, CA
    2025-03-18 02:46:33 UTC10.9 km
  23. 3.910 km NW of Malibu, CA
    2025-03-17 03:17:21 UTC11.8 km
  24. 6.534 km NE of Olonkinbyen, Svalbard and Jan Mayen
    2025-03-10 02:33:14 UTC10.0 km
  25. 4.110 km NW of Malibu, CA
    2025-03-09 20:03:20 UTC11.4 km
  26. 4.52025 Orcas Island, Washington
    2025-03-03 13:02:37 UTC15.8 km
  27. 3.82 km ESE of North Hollywood, CA
    2025-03-03 06:13:45 UTC15.6 km
  28. 4.826 km SW of Ackerly, Texas
    2025-02-28 19:33:24 UTC6.8 km
  29. 5.8102 km NNE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
    2025-02-25 05:48:55 UTC46.0 km
  30. 3.46 km SSE of Lea Hill, Washington
    2025-02-22 11:45:29 UTC25.4 km
  31. 4.828 km W of Squamish, Canada
    2025-02-21 21:26:32 UTC10.0 km
  32. 4.81 km NE of Charneca de Caparica, Portugal
    2025-02-17 13:24:04 UTC10.0 km
  33. 4.210 km SSE of Nāngloi Jāt, India
    2025-02-17 00:06:52 UTC10.0 km
  34. 3.711 km WNW of Malibu, CA
    2025-02-15 14:30:12 UTC14.2 km
  35. 3.710 km WNW of Malibu, CA
    2025-02-15 07:44:05 UTC15.4 km
  36. 5.053 km NW of Toyah, Texas
    2025-02-15 05:23:21 UTC6.1 km
  37. 5.125 km N of Ouezzane, Morocco
    2025-02-10 22:48:41 UTC29.5 km
  38. 7.6210 km SSW of George Town, Cayman Islands
    2025-02-08 23:23:14 UTC14.3 km
  39. 4.125 km SSW of Susitna, Alaska
    2025-02-05 08:07:09 UTC5.1 km
  40. 4.519 km ENE of Falls City, Texas
    2025-01-30 03:26:38 UTC3.7 km
  41. 3.89 km SE of York Harbor, Maine
    2025-01-27 15:22:56 UTC10.6 km
  42. 6.010 km NE of Yujing, Taiwan
    2025-01-20 16:17:26 UTC16.0 km
  43. 2.81 km NNE of Wyndham, Virginia
    2025-01-14 22:28:51 UTC0.1 km
  44. 6.815 km SE of Miyazaki, Japan
    2025-01-13 12:19:32 UTC39.0 km
  45. 6.218 km SE of Aquila, Mexico
    2025-01-12 08:32:49 UTC39.0 km
  46. 5.5Southern Qinghai, China
    2025-01-08 07:44:22 UTC10.0 km
  47. 7.12025 Southern Tibetan Plateau Earthquake
    2025-01-07 01:05:16 UTC10.0 km
  48. 6.256 km SSE of La Libertad, El Salvador
    2025-01-05 17:18:45 UTC46.0 km
  49. 5.752 km N of Āwash, Ethiopia
    2025-01-04 00:52:21 UTC8.0 km
  50. 6.184 km NNW of Calama, Chile
    2025-01-02 20:43:35 UTC99.0 km
  51. 4.74 km NW of Cobb, CA
    2025-01-02 02:34:04 UTC1.4 km

What makes an earthquake "significant"?

Events in this list and shown in red on our real-time earthquake map and list are considered “significant events’, and they are determined by a combination of magnitude, number of Did You Feel It responses, and PAGER alert level.

Here is the equation:

mag_significance = magnitude * 100 * (magnitude / 6.5);
pager_significance = red is 2000 : orange is 1000 : yellow is 500 : green is 0;
dyfi_significance = min(num_responses, 1000) * max_cdi / 10;

significance = max(mag_significance, pager_significance) + dyfi_significance;

Any event with a significance > 600 is considered a significant event and appears on the list.