6.5

M6.5 Earthquake 34 km NE of Olonkinbyen, Svalbard and Jan Mayen — March 10, 2025

2025-03-10 02:33:14 UTC (2025-03-10) · approx. 1:33 AM UTC-1 local

Felt by 7 people across nearby locations. Maximum shaking intensity MMI 8.2 (violent).

MagnitudeM6.5(mww)
Time02:33 UTC≈ 1:33 AM UTC-1
Depth10.0 kmshallow crustal
Coordinates71.176°, -8.173°
Felt by7DYFI responses· max MMI 8.2
Status✓ Reviewed by USGS· Tsunami evaluation· green PAGER
green Alert— no significant casualties or damage expected
Tsunami Warning Issued

On March 10, 2025 at 02:33 UTC, a magnitude 6.5 shallow crustal earthquake struck 34 km NE of Olonkinbyen, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, at a depth of 10.0 km and coordinates 71.1760°, -8.1733°. The earthquake was reported felt by 7 peopleacross nearby locations, with a maximum shaking intensity of Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) 8.2 (violent). The USGS PAGER system issued a green alert level for this event, indicating no significant casualties or damage expected. This earthquake was detected by 437 seismic stations with excellent location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 656, making it a moderate-impact event. The nearest populated place is Olonkinbyen (population 14).

Physical scale: An earthquake of magnitude 6.5 releases seismic energy equivalent to roughly 85 kilotons of TNT. Empirical fault-scaling laws (Wells & Coppersmith, 1994) estimate the subsurface rupture length at approximately 18 km — a useful intuition for the size of the slip patch on the fault.

Nearest Populated Places

Olonkinbyenpop. 14
MMI 5.3 (strong)
Map showing earthquake epicenter at 71.18°, -8.17°

ShakeMap — predicted shaking intensity

Modeled ground-motion intensity contoured on the Modified Mercalli scale (MMI). Computed by the USGS from the moment-tensor solution and regional ground-motion prediction equations.

USGS ShakeMap intensity contours for the M6.5 earthquake near 34 km NE of Olonkinbyen, Svalbard and Jan Mayen

Source: U.S. Geological Survey ShakeMap. View interactive ShakeMap on USGS

Did You Feel It? — community-reported shaking

Aggregated felt-report intensity from 7 citizen responses to the USGS Did You Feel It? system. Each colored zone represents the average MMI from reports in that area.

USGS DYFI community-reported intensity map for the M6.5 earthquake near 34 km NE of Olonkinbyen, Svalbard and Jan Mayen

Source: U.S. Geological Survey Did You Feel It?. View on USGS · submit your own report

Earthquake Details

Magnitude
6.5 mww
Depth
10.0 km
shallow crustal
Location
71.1760°N
-8.1733°E
Felt Reports
7
DYFI responses
Intensity (MMI)
8.2
violent
Community Intensity
8.3
CDI from reports

Technical Information

Event ID
us6000pxvx
Event Type
earthquake
Status
✓ Reviewed
Significance
656
Stations Used
437
Azimuthal Gap
15.0°
Min Station Distance
0.219°
RMS Residual
0.59 sec
Last Updated
2025-05-16 17:30:04 UTC

Common Questions

How strong was the magnitude 6.5 earthquake near Olonkinbyen, Svalbard and Jan Mayen?

The magnitude 6.5 earthquake that struck 34 km NE of Olonkinbyen, Svalbard and Jan Mayen on March 10, 2025 at 02:33 UTC had a depth of 10.0 km. It was felt by 7 people with maximum shaking intensity of MMI 8.2 (violent). For context, this was a strong earthquake capable of causing significant damage.

Where did the earthquake occur?

The earthquake epicenter was located at 71.1760°, -8.1733°, which is 34 km NE of Olonkinbyen, Svalbard and Jan Mayen. The nearest populated place is Olonkinbyen (population 14).

Were there aftershocks?

Aftershock activity is monitored continuously by the USGS. Aftershock sequences from magnitude 6.5 earthquakes can continue for weeks to months and gradually diminish over time.

Actions

View on USGSDid You Feel It?

Authoritative source: USGS event page (event ID: us6000pxvx). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.

Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2025, March 10, 2025). M6.5 Earthquake 34 km NE of Olonkinbyen, Svalbard and Jan Mayen — March 10, 2025. Retrieved May 16, 2025 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us6000pxvx/