Two earthquakes hit Oregon coast today: What to know

Two earthquakes struck off the Oregon coast on Tuesday, shaking communities along the Pacific Northwest coastline.

The first quake recorded a magnitude of 5.4 and occurred about 100 miles west of Port Orford, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). A second tremor followed hours later, measuring 4.8 magnitude, as part of an ongoing sequence offshore.

No tsunami warning was issued, and no major damage was reported.

Why does it matter?

The earthquakes are just the latest examples of ongoing seismic activity in the Pacific Northwest, where the San Andreas Fault in California and the Cascadia subduction zone offshore Oregon and Washington pose a major geological threat. Although infrastructure is equipped to withstand earthquakes throughout the region and people are accustomed to the sudden shaking that accompanies such events, earthquakes are still incredibly dangerous and deadly.

What do you know?

The USGS Earthquakes account on X did not post any of the tremors on Wednesday.

Newsweek received the following automated response after contacting the agency for comment about the earthquakes: “I have contacted the USGS Earthquake Media Team. Due to delayed appropriations, this mailbox is not being monitored. We will respond to non-shutdown inquiries when the appropriations are in effect.”

Where were the epicenters of the earthquakes in Oregon?

Both quakes occurred offshore, according to the USGS website, making it less likely that local communities in Oregon would feel both quakes.

As of 11:30 a.m. ET, only two people had filed reports through the USGS claiming to have felt tremors from the 5.4-magnitude quake, which occurred at a depth of 10 kilometers. No reports have been made of people feeling the 4.8 magnitude earthquake.

The map shows the location of earthquakes

The USGS said damage usually occurs when an earthquake reaches a magnitude of about 4 or 5, meaning the two quakes that struck Oregon were strong enough to cause damage. However, given that both earthquakes occurred offshore, the chances of causing damage on the beach are low.

One of the biggest risks when an earthquake occurs at sea is the possibility of a tsunami. NWS Alerts Tsunami Alerts said there was no tsunami risk with either earthquake.

What is the strongest earthquake to ever hit Oregon?

Most earthquakes that occur in Oregon strike offshore. Since 2000, the largest earthquake to occur offshore Oregon was a magnitude 6.3 earthquake that occurred on January 15, 2003. Since then, several other magnitude 6.3 earthquakes have struck Oregon, including in 2008 and 2019. News outlet KOIN reported that these quakes did not originate from the Cascadia subduction zone, but in the Blanco fault zone.

Lucy Jones, founder and chief scientist at the Dr. Lucy Jones Center for Science and Society, told Newsweek that earthquakes along the Blanco Fault Zone were typical, and that some magnitude 5 quakes occur there every year.

What people say

“Offshore earthquakes are just events in the Earth's crust where the rocks happen to have some water on top of them, so there's no physical difference in the earthquakes themselves,” scientist Lucy Jones told Newsweek. “If an offshore fault pushes the seafloor up, it can produce a tsunami, but that would require a very large earthquake (above M7) and these events are slippage, which means the rocks move horizontally, not vertically.”

“Earthquakes strike suddenly, violently, and usually without warning. Identifying potential hazards early and planning ahead can reduce the risk of serious injury or loss of life caused by an earthquake,” the EPA wrote on a web page about earthquake preparedness.

What happens next

Since both earthquakes were fairly strong, the chance of aftershocks is higher than the chance of a weaker earthquake. A recent study from Oregon State University found that earthquakes occurring in the Cascadia subduction zone have the potential to trigger another earthquake along the San Andreas Fault within a few hours, even though such an earthquake has not occurred.

It is also unclear which fault zone or subduction zone caused the Oregon earthquakes.

Updated 10/29/25, 12:37 PM ET: This article has been updated to include additional information.

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