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Intensity Lab

One Earthquake. One Magnitude. Countless Intensities.

Magnitude describes the amount of energy released by an earthquake. Seismic intensities describe the level and type of shaking at a particular location. The USGS Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) scale1 describes seismic intensity shaking levels from one (I) to ten (X). Explore video footage below to see real-world examples of seismic intensity levels.

  1. I
  2. II
  3. III
  4. IV
  5. V
  6. VI
  7. VII
  8. VIII
  9. IX
  10. X

One (I) Not feltTen (X) Extreme

Seismic intensity by location

List view Open the full map →
Key
Earthquake with clips
M7+, no clips yet
Circle size: magnitude
Camera: intensity seen in the clip (MMI)
Dashed ring: how closely the camera is located
© CARTO © OpenStreetMap · Terrain: AWS Terrain Tiles · Borders: Natural Earth · Earthquakes: USGS · MapLibre
Zoom into earthquakes on this globe to see the location of videos of shaking caused by that earthquake with an estimate of the seismic intensity shown in the video.

All earthquakes on the map

The same earthquakes as a list. Select one to show it on the globe. Select a column heading to sort. How the globe is populated

PlaceDepth
2026-10-22M7.0near Nagqu, China18 km–No clips yet
2026-10-09M7.7near Pitaloza Arriba, Panama10 km10X Extreme
2026-08-14M7.8near Ende, Indonesia10 km1VIII Severe
2026-08-10M7.4near San José del Palmar, Colombia116 km–No clips yet
2026-07-17M7.3near Puerto Madero, Mexico22 km–No clips yet
2026-06-24M7.5near Catia La Mar, Venezuela10 km2VIII Severe
2026-06-24M7.2near San Felipe, Venezuela10 km–No clips yet
2026-06-24M5.6near Redwood Valley, CA9 km6VII Very strong
2026-06-07M7.8near Kablalan, Philippines57 km–No clips yet
2026-04-20M7.4near Miyako, Japan25 km–No clips yet
2026-04-01M7.4near Bitung, Indonesia35 km–No clips yet
2026-03-30M7.3near Luganville, Vanuatu121 km–No clips yet
2026-03-24M7.5near Neiafu, Tonga234 km–No clips yet
2026-02-22M7.1near Kota Belud, Malaysia629 km–No clips yet
2022-12-20M6.4near Ferndale, CA18 km1VII Very strong
2019-07-06M7.1Ridgecrest8 km3VII Very strong
2019-07-04M6.4Ridgecrest11 km5VII Very strong
2015-05-12M7.3Nepal15 km1VI Strong
2014-08-24M6.0South Napa, California11 km3VI Strong
2010-04-04M7.2Sierra El Mayor, B.C., Mexico10 km2VI Strong
1989-10-18M6.9Loma Prieta, California17 km4X Extreme

Three ways to see seismic intensity

Shaking videos

Footage from real earthquakes, each clip rated on the Mercalli scale by what it shows.

See each level →

Ground motion simulations

Where no camera was recording, physics-based simulations compute the shaking at nearby towns.

How we simulate →

Physics-based animations

A tabletop and a kitchen, moved by recorded or simulated ground motion, show what the estimated shaking does to familiar objects.

Watch the animations →

The ten levels of the scale

Each level of the Modified Mercalli scale names what shaking does to people, objects and buildings. See each level in real footage, and see how hard recent earthquakes shook 2,002 named places in the western United States and northern Mexico.

Explore the scale Watch shaking videos
MMI V Clip of the day
Interior of home during aftershock, M6.4 Ridgecrest Earthquake Sequence. Rated MMI V from the effects it shows. What MMI V means

WeakestStrongest

One earthquake, many intensities

The 2019 M7.1 Ridgecrest earthquake had one magnitude. At the named places it reached, intensity ran from VII near the fault to IV in Los Angeles.

The Ridgecrest event page →
Intensity at named places against distance from the epicentre: Ridgecrest, 18 km, MMI VII; Weldon, 63 km, MMI V; Mojave, 95 km, MMI V; Lancaster, 129 km, MMI IV; Adelanto, 133 km, MMI V; Lucerne Valley, 158 km, MMI V; Los Angeles, 200 km, MMI IV IV V VI VII 0 50 100 150 200 Distance from epicentre (km) Ridgecrest 18 km Weldon 63 km Mojave 95 km Lancaster 129 km Adelanto 133 km Lucerne Valley 158 km Los Angeles 200 km
ShakeMap intensity at named places, by distance from the epicentre. Intensity falls with distance, but not evenly: local ground conditions matter too.

Recorded and simulated, same earthquake

A camera in Ridgecrest, and our animation of the ground motion simulated there.

VII Recorded: Driveway with two vehicles and pedestrian VII Simulated: Ridgecrest, Kitchen scene

Play them side by side →

The shaking video collection

Camera footage from earthquakes around the world. We rate each clip by answering questions built from the scale's own statements: what people, objects and buildings do on camera.

Browse all clips →
  • 38rated clips
  • 11earthquakes
  • 6countries
  • V–Xlevels shown so far
V MMI V: Moderate Trees and bushes shaken slightly. 7 clips rated V VI MMI VI: Strong Goods, dishes or books fall from shelves. 18 clips rated VI VII MMI VII: Very Strong Trees and bushes shaken moderately to strongly. 7 clips rated VII VIII MMI VIII: Severe Heavy furniture overturned and displaced. 4 clips rated VIII X MMI X: Extreme Most masonry and frame buildings collapse. 2 clips rated X

Latest earthquake in our region

Recent earthquakes →
M4.9 9 km N of Delta, B.C., MX 2026-11-03T18:27:31.240000Z · Strongest shaking at named places: IVNuevo LeónIVEjido SaltilloIVEjido Vicente Guerrero Shaking by town →

Intensity at named places is interpolated from the USGS ShakeMap. 6 earthquakes of magnitude 3.5 or more in the latest 30 days of our records.

Explore further

Recorded vs. simulated Real footage beside our simulation of the same earthquake at the same place. How we simulate shaking Ground motion from physics-based simulations, drawn as Kitchen and Tabletop scenes. Shaking fades with distance One earthquake at 5, 50 and 100 km from the epicentre, side by side. Coverage and the API 2,002 named places from northern Mexico to Washington, and an API for developers.

Site last deployed: November 4, 2026.