M6.8 Earthquake in the Maug Islands region, Northern Mariana Islands — April 5, 2024
2024-04-05 11:03:16 UTC (2024-04-05) · approx. 9:03 PM UTC+10 local
Felt by 100 people across nearby locations. Maximum shaking intensity MMI 4.2 (moderate).
On April 5, 2024 at 11:03 UTC, a magnitude 6.8 intermediate depth earthquake struck in the Maug Islands region, Northern Mariana Islands, at a depth of 222.0 km and coordinates 19.1103°, 145.3659°. The earthquake was reported felt by 100 peopleacross nearby locations, with a maximum shaking intensity of Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) 4.2 (moderate). The USGS PAGER system issued a green alert level for this event, indicating no significant casualties or damage expected. This earthquake was detected by 199 seismic stations with excellent location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 754, making it a moderate-impact event.
Physical scale: An earthquake of magnitude 6.8 releases seismic energy equivalent to roughly 239 kilotons of TNT. Empirical fault-scaling laws (Wells & Coppersmith, 1994) estimate the subsurface rupture length at approximately 30 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 100 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
145.3659°E
Technical Information
Common Questions
How strong was the magnitude 6.8 earthquake in the Maug Islands region, Northern Mariana Islands?
The magnitude 6.8 earthquake that struck in the Maug Islands region, Northern Mariana Islands on April 5, 2024 at 11:03 UTC had a depth of 222.0 km. It was felt by 100 people with maximum shaking intensity of MMI 4.2 (moderate). For context, this was a strong earthquake capable of causing significant damage.
Where did the earthquake occur?
The earthquake epicenter was located at 19.1103°, 145.3659°, which is in the Maug Islands region, Northern Mariana Islands.
Were there aftershocks?
Aftershock activity is monitored continuously by the USGS. Aftershock sequences from magnitude 6.8 earthquakes can continue for weeks to months and gradually diminish over time.
Actions
Authoritative source: USGS event page (event ID: us7000ma2w). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.
Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2024, April 5, 2024). M6.8 Earthquake in the Maug Islands region, Northern Mariana Islands — April 5, 2024. Retrieved March 21, 2026 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us7000ma2w/