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Earthquakes Near Me / New York

New York Earthquakes: Recent Quakes and the Largest on Record

New York averages 1.9 earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more a year (2016 to 2025), and the largest in the USGS catalog since 1900 is the M5.7 of September 5, 1944, the Massena, New York Earthquake.

Live from the USGS

Earthquakes near New York City in the last 30 days

Every quake within 155 miles of New York City, New York’s largest city, newest first. For your own address, enter a ZIP code.

Within
Magnitude
Reading the USGS earthquake catalog for magnitude 2.5 and up within 155 miles of New York City.

Live from the USGS earthquake catalog. Times are Eastern time; felt reports and the shaking level come from Did You Feel It? A new quake can take a few minutes to appear and its magnitude can be revised.

New York by the numbers

USGS catalog, read October 10, 2026
1.9
Quakes of M2.5+ a year
the average, 2016 to 2025
29th
Rank of 50 states
by quakes of M2.5+ a year
M5.7
Largest since 1900
September 5, 1944
0
M3+ in 2026
through October 10, 2026

New York averages 1.9 earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more a year, counting 19 from 2016 to 2025, which ranks it 29th of the fifty states.

Since 1990

New York earthquakes by year

The USGS catalog lists 26 earthquakes of magnitude 3 or more in New York from 1990 to 2025, the most in 2002 (4). 2016 to 2025: 6; 2006 to 2015: 7.

Magnitude 3 and up in New York, 1990 to 2025; the tallest bar is 4. From the USGS catalog, read October 10, 2026.
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Since 1900

The 10 largest earthquakes in New York

The largest earthquake in New York in the USGS catalog since 1900 is the M5.7 of September 5, 1944, the Massena, New York Earthquake. The most recent of magnitude 4 or more was the M5.3 of April 20, 2002, 8 km NNW of Au Sable Forks, New York.

  1. 1M5.7
    The 1944 Massena, New York EarthquakeSeptember 5, 1944, 9.3 mi (15 km) deep
  2. 2M5.3
    8 km NNW of Au Sable Forks, New YorkApril 20, 2002, 3.0 mi (5 km) deep
  3. 3M5.1
    The 1983 Blue Mountain Lake, New York EarthquakeOctober 7, 1983, 7.8 mi (13 km) deep
  4. 4M4.7
    The 1929 Attica, New York EarthquakeAugust 12, 1929, 5.6 mi (9 km) deep
  5. 5M4.7
    2 km SSW of Warrensburg, New YorkApril 20, 1931, 3.1 mi (5 km) deep
  6. 6M4.5
    6 km WSW of Dannemora, New YorkApril 15, 1934
  7. 7M4.5
    6 km ESE of Cornwall, CanadaSeptember 5, 1944, 0.6 mi (1 km) deep
  8. 8M4.3
    3 km SE of Attica, New YorkJanuary 1, 1966
  9. 9M4.2
    6 km E of Altona, New YorkJune 9, 1975, 6.2 mi (10 km) deep
  10. 10M4.1
    Mohawk Valley, New YorkFebruary 3, 1916

From the USGS ComCat catalog, every magnitude since 1900, read October 10, 2026. Each place links to the quake’s USGS page.

When it shakes

What to do in an earthquake

  1. 1

    Drop

    Drop where you are onto hands and knees.

  2. 2

    Cover

    Cover your head and neck with one arm and hand. If a sturdy table or desk is nearby, crawl underneath it for shelter. If no shelter is nearby, crawl next to an interior wall (away from windows). Stay on your knees; bend over to protect vital organs.

  3. 3

    Hold On

    Hold until the shaking stops. If under shelter, hold on with one hand and be ready to move with it when the shelter moves. If not under shelter, hold on to your head and neck with both arms and hands.

Ready.gov’s words, from Ready.gov: Earthquakes (updated Sep 9, 2026, read October 9, 2026). Practice it with The Great ShakeOut: Earthquake Drills.

A seismograph drum wrapped in paper with rows of ink traces, the pen drawing a new line as the drum turns
A seismogram being recorded by a seismograph at the Weston Observatory in Massachusetts. “Seismogram at Weston Observatory” by Z22, CC BY-SA 3.0
Questions

New York earthquake questions

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Other states

Earthquakes in every state

Earthquakes near any ZIP code

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Sources. The live list: the USGS FDSN event service. New York’s counts and largest quakes: the USGS ComCat catalog, read October 10, 2026, counted inside the state’s Census boundary and within 150 km of its coast where USGS names the state. New York City: the state’s most populous city in the Census Vintage 2024 estimates. Older years hold fewer small quakes because fewer instruments were listening.

Hero photograph: the San Andreas Fault across the Carrizo Plain. “Kluft-photo-Carrizo-Plain-Nov-2007-Img 0327” by Ikluft, CC BY-SA 4.0