Reviewed by USGS7y ago
M5.4 earthquake in South Sandwich Islands region
Thursday, January 3, 2019, 12:47:31 UTC · 59.746°S, 26.201°W
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck in South Sandwich Islands region on Thursday, January 3, 2019, 12:47:31 UTC, at a depth of 42.4 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.1 on December 11, 2018.
- Magnitude
- 5.4
- Moderate · mb
- Depth
- 42 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
2 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/8 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 4 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
60 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Sandwich and South American plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
42 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 4 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.7 on January 15, 2019. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 732 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.5South Sandwich Islands regionAugust 28, 1933 · 75 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.4east of the South Sandwich IslandsJanuary 2, 2006 · 286 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.3South Sandwich Islands regionSeptember 1, 1961 · 62 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.3South Sandwich Islands regionJuly 15, 2013 · 138 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.2South Sandwich Islands regionNovember 15, 1910 · 146 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2South Sandwich Islands regionOctober 22, 1983 · 110 km S of this epicenter
- 7.1South Sandwich Islands regionDecember 11, 2018 · 134 km N of this epicenter
- 7.0east of the South Sandwich IslandsOctober 6, 1973 · 283 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:
- 1961M7.7
South Sandwich Islands
5 Sep 1961 · 199 km away
- 1961M7.5
South Sandwich Islands
1 Sep 1961 · 68 km away
- 1973M7.5
Antarctica
6 Oct 1973 · 283 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.