M4.9 Earthquake 12 km ESE of Cherbourg, Australia — August 15, 2025
2025-08-15 23:49:25 UTC (2025-08-15) · approx. 9:49 AM UTC+10 local
Felt by 885 people across surrounding communities.
On August 15, 2025 at 23:49 UTC, a magnitude 4.9 shallow crustal earthquake struck 12 km ESE of Cherbourg, Australia, at a depth of 10.0 km and coordinates -26.3389°, 152.0711°. This earthquake was detected by 87 seismic stations with excellent location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 750, making it a moderate-impact event.
Physical scale: An earthquake of magnitude 4.9 releases seismic energy equivalent to roughly 338 metric tons of TNT. Empirical fault-scaling laws (Wells & Coppersmith, 1994) estimate the subsurface rupture length at approximately 1.4 km — a useful intuition for the size of the slip patch on the fault.
Did You Feel It? — community-reported shaking
Aggregated felt-report intensity from 885 citizen responses to the USGS Did You Feel It? system. Each colored zone represents the average MMI from reports in that area.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey Did You Feel It?. View on USGS · submit your own report
Earthquake Details
152.0711°E
Technical Information
Common Questions
How strong was the magnitude 4.9 earthquake near Cherbourg, Australia?
The magnitude 4.9 earthquake that struck 12 km ESE of Cherbourg, Australia on August 15, 2025 at 23:49 UTC had a depth of 10.0 km. For context, this was a light earthquake commonly felt near the epicenter.
Where did the earthquake occur?
The earthquake epicenter was located at -26.3389°, 152.0711°, which is 12 km ESE of Cherbourg, Australia.
Were there aftershocks?
Aftershock activity is monitored continuously by the USGS. Aftershock sequences from magnitude 4.9 earthquakes can continue for several days and gradually diminish over time.
Authoritative source: USGS event page (event ID: us6000r1j3). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.
Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2025, August 15, 2025). M4.9 Earthquake 12 km ESE of Cherbourg, Australia — August 15, 2025. Retrieved December 9, 2025 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us6000r1j3/