M5.2 Earthquake 139 km ENE of Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands — April 2, 2024
2024-04-02 22:16:44 UTC (2024-04-02) · approx. 8:16 AM UTC+10 local
On April 2, 2024 at 22:16 UTC, a magnitude 5.2 shallow crustal earthquake struck 139 km ENE of Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, at a depth of 10.0 km and coordinates 15.8934°, 146.8532°. The USGS PAGER system issued a green alert level for this event, indicating no significant casualties or damage expected. This earthquake was detected by 241 seismic stations with excellent location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 416, placing it among routine seismic activity. The nearest populated place is San Jose Village (population 15,000).
Physical scale: An earthquake of magnitude 5.2 releases seismic energy equivalent to roughly 951 metric tons of TNT. Empirical fault-scaling laws (Wells & Coppersmith, 1994) estimate the subsurface rupture length at approximately 2.3 km — a useful intuition for the size of the slip patch on the fault.
Nearest Populated Places
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
Population exposure (USGS PAGER)
Estimated population that experienced each level of shaking. Based on the USGS PAGER rapid impact assessment, which combines ShakeMap output with global population grids.
| Shaking intensity (MMI) | Description | Population exposed |
|---|---|---|
| MMI 3 | weak | 16,498 |
Earthquake Details
146.8532°E
Technical Information
Nearby Earthquakes (Last 7 Days)
Common Questions
How strong was the magnitude 5.2 earthquake near Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands?
The magnitude 5.2 earthquake that struck 139 km ENE of Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands on April 2, 2024 at 22:16 UTC had a depth of 10.0 km. For context, this was a moderate earthquake that could be widely felt.
Where did the earthquake occur?
The earthquake epicenter was located at 15.8934°, 146.8532°, which is 139 km ENE of Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. The nearest populated place is San Jose Village (population 15,000).
Were there aftershocks?
Aftershock activity is monitored continuously by the USGS. Aftershock sequences from magnitude 5.2 earthquakes can continue for days to weeks and gradually diminish over time.
Actions
Authoritative source: USGS event page (event ID: us7000m9fv). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.
Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2024, April 2, 2024). M5.2 Earthquake 139 km ENE of Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands — April 2, 2024. Retrieved June 12, 2024 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us7000m9fv/