Reviewed by USGS10y ago
M5.0 earthquake in South Sandwich Islands region
Saturday, September 24, 2016, 01:32:55 UTC · 54.915°S, 30.699°W
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck in South Sandwich Islands region on Saturday, September 24, 2016, 01:32:55 UTC, at a depth of 15.1 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.0 on September 21, 2016.
- Magnitude
- 5.0
- Moderate · mb
- Depth
- 15 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
477 tons of TNT
That is about 1/32 of the Hiroshima bomb. Each whole step in magnitude is about 32 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
7 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
15 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 8 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.0 on September 24, 2016. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 4.5South Sandwich Islands region10y ago · 15 km N of this epicenter
- 4.5South Georgia Island region10y ago · 22 km SW of this epicenter
- 4.5South Georgia Island region10y ago · 75 km W of this epicenter
- 4.3South Sandwich Islands region10y ago · 34 km S of this epicenter
- 4.4South Georgia Island region10y ago · 61 km SW of this epicenter
- 4.8South Sandwich Islands region10y ago · 8 km N of this epicenter
- 4.9South Sandwich Islands region10y ago · 21 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.0South Sandwich Islands region10y ago · 11 km NE of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 695 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 · 100 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.8South Sandwich Islands regionMay 26, 1964 · 247 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.4South Georgia Island regionAugust 19, 2016 · 85 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.2South Sandwich Islands regionMay 28, 2016 · 279 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.1South Sandwich Islands regionSeptember 8, 1961 · 263 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.9South Sandwich Islands regionAugust 18, 1930 · 197 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.9South Sandwich Islands regionSeptember 13, 1921 · 151 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.9South Sandwich Islands regionSeptember 6, 2004 · 121 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 · 100 km away
- 1961M7.7
South Sandwich Islands
8 Sep 1961 · 262 km away
- 2016M7.4
South Sandwich Islands
19 Aug 2016 · 85 km away · intensity III
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.