Choose a time window and minimum magnitude, then check the live USGS feed below.
- Pick a time window - past hour, past day, or past week.
- Pick a minimum magnitude to filter out the smallest, rarely-felt events.
- Press "Check earthquakes" to load the current results from the USGS feed.
- Press "Sort by distance from me" and allow location access to re-sort the list nearest-first, with a distance column added.
Recent Earthquakes Near Me (USGS Live Feed)
Check the US Geological Survey's live earthquake feed for the past hour, day, or week, filtered by a minimum magnitude.
The page loads a default "past day, all magnitudes" lookup on open, so results are visible before you touch a control. Pick a time window and a magnitude floor, then press "Check earthquakes" to load matching events from the live feed.
Key features
- Each result shows magnitude (color-banded by severity), place, time-ago, and depth, and the place name links to the official USGS event page.
- Press "Sort by distance from me" for a browser-location lookup: results then sort nearest-first with a distance column in km and miles, computed in your browser. Without location, they stay most-recent-first.
- A static magnitude-scale reference table (micro through great, with typical effects) stays on the page at all times, even before you run a lookup.
- When nothing matches your magnitude floor, you get a clear "No earthquakes at or above that magnitude" message instead of a blank panel.
When to use it
Use it to see what has shaken your area recently, or raise the magnitude floor to track the largest events. It is a lookup, not an early-warning or alert system - data appears only after USGS processes an event, so follow local official guidance during an active emergency.
What each magnitude tier means
The tracker's on-page reference table breaks earthquakes into six magnitude bands, each with a plain-language description of the effect that size actually has. Magnitude 1.0-2.9 (micro/minor) is usually not felt at all and shows up only on instruments. Magnitude 3.0-3.9 (minor) is often felt but rarely causes damage. Magnitude 4.0-4.9 (light) produces noticeable shaking of objects indoors, with minor damage possible. Magnitude 5.0-5.9 (moderate) can damage poorly built structures over a small area. Magnitude 6.0-6.9 (strong) can be destructive across an area roughly 160 km wide. Magnitude 7.0 and above (major/great) can cause serious damage across whole regions. The magnitude-floor dropdown mirrors this same scale: choose "All magnitudes" to see everything the feed reports, or step up to M1.0+, M2.5+, or M4.5+ to drop the smaller, rarely-felt events and focus on the ones people are more likely to notice.
Your location stays in your browser
The tool calls the public USGS feed directly from your browser, so no server of ours is in the request path. It reads your device location only through the browser Geolocation API when you press the distance button, with a graceful fallback if you deny it - there is no address search, and it does not store which locations you check. Coverage is strongest for the US and networked regions, so small quakes elsewhere may be missing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Recent Earthquakes Near Me (USGS Live Feed) do?
It reads the US Geological Survey's live GeoJSON feed for the past hour, day, or week, and lists earthquakes at or above the magnitude you choose, with time, place, and depth.
How do I sort earthquakes near my own location?
Press "Sort by distance from me" to let the tool use your browser location (this asks for location permission); results then sort nearest first with a distance column, instead of most-recent-first.
What happens if nothing matches my filters?
The tool shows a clear "No earthquakes at or above that magnitude" message rather than leaving the page blank.
How current is this data?
The feed comes directly from USGS and typically updates within minutes of an event, but it is not an early-warning system - always follow official emergency guidance during an active event.
What do the M1.0+, M2.5+, and M4.5+ filter options mean?
Each option sets a minimum magnitude for the results list. M1.0+ still includes minor, rarely-felt earthquakes; M2.5+ drops the smallest events; M4.5+ narrows the list to earthquakes that are widely felt and can cause light damage. Pick "All magnitudes" to see every event the feed reports for the selected time window.
How far back does the earthquake list go?
As far back as the time window you pick - past hour, past day, or past week. Each option re-queries the live USGS feed for that exact window, so switching periods refreshes the whole list rather than filtering an older one.