Reviewed by USGS4y ago
M4.9 earthquake in South Sandwich Islands region
Tuesday, March 15, 2022, 07:54:06 UTC · 59.839°S, 26.426°W
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck in South Sandwich Islands region on Tuesday, March 15, 2022, 07:54:06 UTC, at a depth of 87.3 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.2 on March 12, 2022.
- Magnitude
- 4.9
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 87 km
- Intermediate
- 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: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
338 tons of TNT
That is about 1/45 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 1 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
24 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Australian and Antarctic plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: intermediate
87 km
Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.
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 50 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.7 on April 12, 2022. 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 1,063 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.12021 South Sandwich Islands EarthquakeAugust 12, 2021 · 176 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.5South Sandwich Islands regionAugust 12, 2021 · 265 km N of this epicenter
- 7.5South Sandwich Islands regionAugust 28, 1933 · 59 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.4east of the South Sandwich IslandsJanuary 2, 2006 · 292 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.3South Sandwich Islands regionSeptember 1, 1961 · 66 km N of this epicenter
- 7.3South Sandwich Islands regionJuly 15, 2013 · 136 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.2South Sandwich Islands regionNovember 15, 1910 · 162 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2South Sandwich Islands regionOctober 22, 1983 · 106 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 5 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 2021M8.1
South Sandwich Islands
12 Aug 2021 · 170 km away
tsunami
- 1961M7.7
South Sandwich Islands
5 Sep 1961 · 207 km away
- 1961M7.5
South Sandwich Islands
1 Sep 1961 · 62 km away
- 1973M7.5
Antarctica
6 Oct 1973 · 290 km away
- 2021M7.5
South Sandwich Islands
12 Aug 2021 · 259 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.