M6.3 Earthquake 266 km NE of Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands — September 16, 2024
2024-09-16 11:36:34 UTC (2024-09-16) · approx. 9:36 PM UTC+10 local
Felt by 49 people across nearby locations.
On September 16, 2024 at 11:36 UTC, a magnitude 6.3 shallow crustal earthquake struck 266 km NE of Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, at a depth of 31.0 km and coordinates 17.1539°, 147.2254°. The earthquake was reported felt by 49 peopleacross nearby locations, with a maximum shaking intensity of Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) 3.6 (light). The USGS PAGER system issued a green alert level for this event, indicating no significant casualties or damage expected. This earthquake was detected by 134 seismic stations with excellent location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 627, making it a moderate-impact event.
Physical scale: An earthquake of magnitude 6.3 releases seismic energy equivalent to roughly 43 kilotons of TNT. Empirical fault-scaling laws (Wells & Coppersmith, 1994) estimate the subsurface rupture length at approximately 13 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 49 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
147.2254°E
Technical Information
Nearby Earthquakes (Last 7 Days)
Common Questions
How strong was the magnitude 6.3 earthquake near Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands?
The magnitude 6.3 earthquake that struck 266 km NE of Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands on September 16, 2024 at 11:36 UTC had a depth of 31.0 km. It was felt by 49 people with maximum shaking intensity of MMI 3.6 (light). For context, this was a strong earthquake capable of causing significant damage.
Where did the earthquake occur?
The earthquake epicenter was located at 17.1539°, 147.2254°, which is 266 km NE of Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands.
Were there aftershocks?
Aftershock activity is monitored continuously by the USGS. Aftershock sequences from magnitude 6.3 earthquakes can continue for weeks to months and gradually diminish over time.
Actions
Authoritative source: USGS event page (event ID: us7000ne84). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.
Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2024, September 16, 2024). M6.3 Earthquake 266 km NE of Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands — September 16, 2024. Retrieved September 16, 2025 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us7000ne84/