M6.5 Earthquake near central Mid-Atlantic Ridge — August 30, 2020
2020-08-30 21:20:29 UTC (2020-08-30) · approx. 7:20 PM UTC-2 local
Felt by 3 people across nearby locations. Maximum shaking intensity MMI 4.8 (moderate).
On August 30, 2020 at 21:20 UTC, a magnitude 6.5 shallow crustal earthquake struck near central Mid-Atlantic Ridge, at a depth of 10.0 km and coordinates 0.7821°, -29.8656°. The earthquake was reported felt by 3 peopleacross nearby locations, with a maximum shaking intensity of Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) 4.8 (moderate). The USGS PAGER system issued a green alert level for this event, indicating no significant casualties or damage expected.
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.
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.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey ShakeMap. View interactive ShakeMap on USGS
Did You Feel It? — community-reported shaking
Aggregated felt-report intensity from 3 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
-29.8656°E
Technical Information
Common Questions
How strong was the magnitude 6.5 earthquake near central Mid-Atlantic Ridge?
The magnitude 6.5 earthquake that struck near central Mid-Atlantic Ridge on August 30, 2020 at 21:20 UTC had a depth of 10.0 km. It was felt by 3 people with maximum shaking intensity of MMI 4.8 (moderate). For context, this was a strong earthquake capable of causing significant damage.
Where did the earthquake occur?
The earthquake epicenter was located at 0.7821°, -29.8656°, which is near central Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
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
Authoritative source: USGS event page (event ID: us7000bf3k). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.
Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2020, August 30, 2020). M6.5 Earthquake near central Mid-Atlantic Ridge — August 30, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2025 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us7000bf3k/