Published 09/26/25 at 7:35 a.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff
(Coos Bay, Oregon) – UPDATE: Third Quake Since Near Midnight --- A pair of underwater quakes fired off near the south Oregon coast around midnight Thursday night, with one clocking in at a sizable 5.9 magnitude. This was enough to cause a “green pager” alert at the US Geological Society (USGS), which on land is often a warning that some fatalities could happen. However, this was at sea, more than 140 miles from Bandon, so it posed no risk to structures or people. (Graphic courtesy USGS)
Meanwhile, the U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center made it a special point to declare there would be no tsunami alert.
The first was the largest at 5.9, happening at 11:45 p.m. It was centered about six miles below the ocean at about 143 miles west of Bandon.
So far, two people have claimed to have felt it via the USGS website.
The USGS said there could be aftershocks - and that is what appears to have happened.
The second quake of a mag 3.0 occurred at 12:22 a.m. just a few miles away at 147 miles west of Bandon. It too was centered about six miles below.
The USGS said these were about 150 miles from Coos Bay and 170 miles from Newport.
A third at M. 3.0 happened at 3:05 a.m. (after this article was originally posted). This one was 141 miles west of Bandon.
Courtesy Oregon's Adventure Coast
Another 3.1 quake occurred a similar distance from Bandon on September 19.
It takes at least a 7.0 quake to generate a tsunami.
These all take place around the Gorda Ridge and the Blanco Fracture Zone, often hitting multiple times per year. This zone of faults is about 200 miles from the massive fault of the Cascadia Subduction Zone – which is the biggie everyone worries about. Quakes in this area don't have any relation to what's happening there.
Oregon, Coast Earthquake Updates - Live Data Oregon, Washington, California, Tsunamis
Seaside geologist Tom Horning told Oregon Coast Beach Connection these have nothing to do with the “big one,” and does not mean the Cascadia zone or this collection of faultlines are “releasing pressure.”
Small groupings of quakes or swarms like this aren't anything that geologists worry about. The area fires one to a few quakes off every month or so. All this is nothing compared to the 77 or so that hit the southern waters within a couple days back in December of 2021.
Earlier This Year:
Swarm of 12 Quakes Fire Off 100 Miles from South Oregon Coast - After the initial 5.8, ranging in magnitude from 2.7 to 5.1: Coos Bay, Port Orford, Bandon, Gold Beach
Oregon Coast Tsunami Findings: Port Orford Received Largest Wave at 2.4 ft - See where the other towns came in
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