The ground moves. You don't always feel it. Honestly, most of the time, the earth beneath your feet is doing a subtle, jittery dance that never makes the evening news. But then there are days like today, January 18, 2026, where the monitors at the USGS (U.S. Geological Survey) start lighting up a bit more than usual.
If you’re looking for the earthquake in the usa today, you’re probably seeing a lot of chatter about the Pacific Northwest and the ever-restless Alaskan wilderness.
Just a couple of days ago, a solid M6.0 struck off the coast of Oregon. It was shallow—only about 10 kilometers deep—and it rattled the nerves of folks from Bandon to Coos Bay. Even though it was offshore, it serves as a wake-up call. We get comfortable. We forget that the Cascadia Subduction Zone is sitting right there, waiting.
Today specifically? The action is mostly micro.
What’s actually shaking right now?
Southern California had a tiny M1.3 near Ludlow early this morning. You wouldn't have felt it unless you were a very sensitive cat or standing directly over the epicenter. Alaska is, as usual, the overachiever of the group. We've seen a handful of tremors today, including a 1.7 near Talkeetna and a sub-1.0 microquake near Ester.
It's easy to ignore the small ones.
But scientists like Dr. Lucy Jones have spent decades trying to explain that these little guys are the "white noise" of a tectonic plate that is constantly under pressure. In Hawaii, the situation is a bit more fiery. Kīlauea is currently in a "paused" state of eruption at the Halemaʻumaʻu crater, but the seismic swarms haven't stopped.
There were dozens of small quakes under the summit just yesterday.
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The magmatic pressure is building. The rocks are cracking. When the USGS says an earthquake is "volcano-tectonic," they basically mean the magma is forcing its way through the crust like a stubborn houseguest.
Why the "Offshore" quakes matter more than you think
When that M6.0 hit off Oregon on January 15th, it wasn't just a random blip. It happened in a spot that reminds us of the "Big One."
Most people think of California when they think of the earthquake in the usa today, but the Pacific Northwest is actually home to a much more dangerous fault line. The San Andreas is a "slip-strike" fault—the plates slide past each other. It’s bad, sure. But Cascadia? That’s a subduction zone. One plate is diving under another. When that snaps, you don't get a "jolt." You get a M9.0 mega-quake that lasts for five minutes.
Five minutes of shaking is an eternity.
The Texas surprise
Believe it or not, West Texas has been incredibly active lately. Near Toyah and Stanton, we've seen M2.4 and M3.4 events within the last 48 hours.
Why Texas?
It’s not exactly a tectonic hotspot like San Francisco. Most of this activity is "induced seismicity." That’s the polite scientific term for earthquakes caused by human activity, specifically wastewater injection from oil and gas operations. It’s a controversial topic, but the data doesn’t lie. The frequency of quakes in the Permian Basin has skyrocketed over the last decade.
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Is a big one coming?
Predicting earthquakes is a fool's errand. No one can do it. Not the guy on YouTube with the "planetary alignment" theories and certainly not the AI models.
What we can do is look at the "probability of occurrence."
The USGS uses something called the National Seismic Hazard Model. They recently updated it to show that nearly 75% of the U.S. could experience a damaging earthquake in the next century. It's not just a "West Coast problem" anymore. Places like the New Madrid Seismic Zone in the Midwest or the Charleston area in South Carolina are statistically overdue for significant movement.
What most people get wrong about earthquake safety
You’ve probably heard you should stand in a doorway.
Don't.
That’s old advice from when houses were made of unreinforced adobe. In a modern American home, the doorway isn't any stronger than the rest of the house, and the door might swing shut and break your fingers.
The real protocol:
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- Drop to your hands and knees.
- Cover your head and neck.
- Hold on to your shelter until the shaking stops.
If you're in bed, stay there. Put a pillow over your head. Most injuries during an earthquake aren't from the building collapsing; they’re from flying glass, falling TVs, and heavy bookshelves.
Actionable steps for the "Not-If-But-When"
Since the earthquake in the usa today is a reminder that the crust is never truly still, you should probably do more than just read about it.
Start by securing your heavy furniture. It takes ten minutes to strap a bookshelf to a wall stud. It might save your life. Check your "go-bag." Do you actually have three days of water? Most people have a flashlight with dead batteries and a half-eaten granola bar from 2021.
Check the USGS "Did You Feel It?" page if you think you felt a tremor. Your data helps seismologists map the intensity of the quake in real-time, which is crucial for emergency response.
The earth is going to keep moving. We just have to be smarter than the rocks.
Next steps to stay safe:
- Download the MyShake app: It provides seconds of warning before the shaking starts in many states.
- Audit your home: Look for "over-the-head" hazards like heavy mirrors or poorly mounted cabinets.
- Review your insurance: Most standard homeowners' policies do not cover earthquake damage. You usually need a separate rider.