Reviewed by USGS10y ago
M5.3 earthquake in South Sandwich Islands region
Friday, September 16, 2016, 12:04:39 UTC · 54.672°S, 30.971°W
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck in South Sandwich Islands region on Friday, September 16, 2016, 12:04:39 UTC, at a depth of 14.3 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.3 on September 2, 2016.
- Magnitude
- 5.3
- Moderate · mb
- Depth
- 14 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
1 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/11 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 3 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
15 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Scotia and South American plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
14 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 75 km
USGS lists 33 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.2 on September 21, 2016. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 4.5South Georgia Island region10y ago · 69 km SW of this epicenter
- 4.3South Sandwich Islands region10y ago · 65 km S of this epicenter
- 4.5South Georgia Island region10y ago · 73 km SW of this epicenter
- 4.4South Georgia Island region10y ago · 71 km SW of this epicenter
- 4.8South Sandwich Islands region10y ago · 25 km SE of this epicenter
- 4.9South Sandwich Islands region10y ago · 11 km SE of this epicenter
- 5.0South Sandwich Islands region10y ago · 28 km SE of this epicenter
- 5.0South Sandwich Islands region10y ago · 32 km SE of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 587 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.11929 South Sandwich Islands EarthquakeJune 27, 1929 · 130 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.8South Sandwich Islands regionMay 26, 1964 · 278 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.4South Georgia Island regionAugust 19, 2016 · 89 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.1South Sandwich Islands regionSeptember 8, 1961 · 294 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.9South Sandwich Islands regionAugust 18, 1930 · 227 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.9South Sandwich Islands regionSeptember 13, 1921 · 181 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.9South Sandwich Islands regionSeptember 6, 2004 · 149 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.9South Sandwich Islands regionJune 29, 2014 · 188 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 3 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1929M8.1
South Sandwich Islands
27 Jun 1929 · 130 km away
- 1961M7.7
South Sandwich Islands
8 Sep 1961 · 292 km away
- 2016M7.4
South Sandwich Islands
19 Aug 2016 · 89 km away · intensity III
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.