Earthquakes
Earthquakes strike without warning, and the first numbers often shift in the hour after as seismologists review the data. This page collects the quakes we have put on the board, newest first, each tied to its official USGS event page. Magnitudes, depths and tsunami flags are the agencies’ figures as published. When a tsunami warning center speaks, its word outranks ours.
Live official sources we watch
- USGS Latest Earthquakes map — every recorded quake worldwide, updated within minutes
- USGS M2.5+ earthquakes, past day (GeoJSON feed) — the feed behind our live HUD
- USGS PAGER — USGS estimates of shaking impact, as green, yellow, orange or red alerts
- NOAA Tsunami Warning Centers (tsunami.gov) — official tsunami warnings, watches and messages
Latest on the board
official (US Geological Survey, event us6000u4j2, ShakeMap and PAGER, Oct 24; USGS earthquake catalog, Oct 23 to 24)
An M6.9 quake opens a swarm off Vanuatu, with dozens of strong shocks since
Vanuatu · at sea west northwest of Port-Olry, Espiritu Santo (pin: USGS epicenter 14.0558S 165.5455E)
A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck at sea 197 km west northwest of Port-Olry, Vanuatu, at 02:31 UTC on Oct 24, at a depth of 10 km, USGS says. An M6.3 followed four minutes later. USGS lists 29 earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or more in the area since, seven of them M5.5 or larger. Its PAGER system issued a green alert.
official (US Geological Survey, event us6000u43g and PAGER, Oct 22; China Earthquake Networks Center and Xizang authorities as reported by Xinhua, Oct 22)
An M7.0 earthquake strikes the Tibetan Plateau, and USGS says the damage may be widespread
China · Tibetan Plateau, Baqen County, Nagqu, Xizang (pin: USGS epicenter 32.3805N 93.7797E)
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck the Tibetan Plateau at 10:33 PM local time on Oct 22, 191 km east northeast of Nagqu, China, at a depth of 18 km, USGS says. Its PAGER system issued an orange alert for economic losses. Local authorities say 16 people were killed and 76 injured in Baqen County, according to Xinhua.
official data (Japan Meteorological Agency press releases, Oct 16, first to third reports; JMA EEW issuance record and warning rules)
Japan's earthquake warning system announced an M9.9 that never happened
Near the Kamchatka Peninsula · 50.0°N 158.1°E (JMA hypocenter, about 160 km deep) · warning area Hokkaido to Chubu, Japan
JMA, Oct 16: at 12:40 PM JST (11:40 PM EDT Oct 15) the Japan Meteorological Agency issued an Earthquake Early Warning for Hokkaido through the Chubu region after its processing placed the source in the Kuril Islands and estimated magnitude 9.9. The public warning itself carries no magnitude; it names the source area and the regions told to expect strong shaking. The real quake was a preliminary M6.9 near the Kamchatka Peninsula, origin time 12:35 PM JST, about 160 km deep, with a maximum seismic intensity of 1 in Hakodate and no tsunami concern. JMA says one of the causes was distant stations used in the magnitude calculation, because a 700 km exclusion meant to stop this was not working; it applied an emergency fix around 9:30 PM JST and apologized.
official data (USGS event us6000u2mq; NOAA NTWC and PTWC information statements)
An M6.9 quake struck 135 km beneath Kamchatka, too deep for a tsunami
Kamchatka, Russia · 51.985°N 157.270°E · 76 km NE of Ozernovskiy · depth 135 km
USGS: an M6.9 (Mww) earthquake struck 76 km NE of Ozernovskiy, Russia, at 51.985N 157.270E and 135 km depth on Oct 16 at 03:35 UTC (11:35 PM EDT Thu Oct 15). USGS PAGER is Green. NOAA's tsunami centers issued information statements only: the National Tsunami Warning Center said there is no tsunami danger for the U.S. West Coast, British Columbia or Alaska and, based on the depth, a tsunami is not expected; the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there is no tsunami threat to Guam or the Northern Marianas.
official data (USGS; SINAPROC via TVN; UN OCHA Sitrep 3; PAHO/WHO)
Panama's M7.7 quake: 2,164 families affected, 506 lost their homes, no deaths, and aftershocks that could run for weeks
Azuero Peninsula, Panama · 7.587°N 80.769°W (USGS epicenter)
USGS: M7.7 at 17:56 UTC (12:56 PM ET) Oct 9 near 7.587N 80.769W, depth 12.6 km, 12 km WSW of Pitaloza Arriba on the Azuero Peninsula; PAGER orange. SINAPROC Communique No. 9 (to 10 PM local Oct 12): 2,164 families, 7,480 people, affected in 9 provinces; 506 families lost their homes. OCHA Sitrep 3 (Oct 12): 27 injured, no deaths or missing, 619 schools and 29 health facilities affected, 16 bridges damaged, more than 800 people in shelters. Aftershocks include USGS M6.6 Oct 9 and M6.1 Oct 12. The University of Panama's geosciences institute says aftershocks could continue for weeks.
official data (USGS; GDACS)
Two strong quakes, M6.7 and M6.8, hit the central Mid-Atlantic Ridge seven hours apart
Central Mid-Atlantic Ridge · 0.409°S 19.431°W (USGS, M6.8)
USGS: M6.7 at 05:44 UTC (1:44 AM ET) Oct 13 near 0.169N 19.860W, and M6.8 at 12:23 UTC (8:23 AM ET) near 0.409S 19.431W, both about 10 km deep on the central Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Both PAGER green. GDACS rates the M6.8 low humanitarian impact with a 0 m tsunami alert.
official data (USGS NEIC) · significant feed
USGS stamps an M6.6 east of New Caledonia — significant feed
80 km ENE of Tadine, New Caledonia
USGS us6000txpi (25 Sep 2123Z): M6.6 mww, 80 km ENE of Tadine, New Caledonia, depth ~10 km — significant feed; tsunami flag off; no PAGER alert color yet; ~8 felt reports.
official data (USGS NEIC) · significant feed
USGS stamps an M6.4 in Papua New Guinea — significant feed, green alert
49 km NNE of Kainantu, Papua New Guinea
USGS us7000tiqc (20 Sep 0917Z): M6.4 mww, 49 km NNE of Kainantu, Papua New Guinea, depth ~104 km — significant feed, PAGER green, tsunami flag off; ~16 felt reports.
peer-reviewed primary (Science) · press triangulation (CNN / SciAm / DongA) · USGS historical event cross-check
Science: North Korea’s last nuclear test still wakes Mount Mantap faults
official humanitarian product (OCHA / EHP Colombia via ReliefWeb)
OCHA: Colombia quake still crushing nearly half a million people — 36,478 homes destroyed
official data (USGS NEIC) · interrupt-adjacent ~M6.5+
USGS stamps an M6.5 west of Nikolski — tsunami flag on, green alert
official data (NOAA/NWS SWPC + USGS NEIC) · monitor-desk window stamp
SWPC: G1 (Minor) storms likely Sep 16–17 from coronal-hole stream + glancing CMEs — flares still B-class; strongest USGS day pin M5.1 off Saipan
official data (USGS NEIC) · interrupt-adjacent ~M6.5+
USGS stamps a deep M6.5 north of Java — green alert, no tsunami flag
official data
Light pin: M5.3 off northern Peru — felt, no tsunami flag
official data
USGS reports M6.3 Aleutians quake SSW of Nikolski — NTWC: no tsunami
official data
USGS reports M6.2 in the South Sandwich Islands region
official data
USGS: M5.6 quake rocks North Maluku seas off Maba
official data
M 5.5 north of Ruteng rattles Flores — USGS PAGER still green
official data
USGS: M5.8 quake hits Kermadec Islands off New Zealand
official data
USGS: M 6.0 north of Caluula, Somalia — major quake, PAGER still green, tsunami flag 0
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