Reviewed by USGS24d ago
M5.3 earthquake in South Sandwich Islands region
Wednesday, September 2, 2026, 10:54:04 UTC · 56.422°S, 26.858°W
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck in South Sandwich Islands region on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, 10:54:04 UTC, at a depth of 99.0 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.3 on August 21, 2026.
- Magnitude
- 5.3
- Moderate · mb
- Depth
- 99 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: 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
94 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: intermediate
99 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 75 km
USGS lists 4 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km since this event; the largest was M6.2 on September 2, 2026. 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 1,822 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 · 237 km SE of this epicenter
- 8.11929 South Sandwich Islands EarthquakeJune 27, 1929 · 194 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.8South Sandwich Islands regionMay 26, 1964 · 50 km W of this epicenter
- 7.5South Sandwich Islands regionAugust 12, 2021 · 169 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.2South Sandwich Islands regionDecember 27, 1991 · 108 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2South Sandwich Islands regionMay 28, 2016 · 21 km N of this epicenter
- 7.1South Sandwich Islands regionSeptember 8, 1961 · 32 km W of this epicenter
- 7.1South Sandwich Islands regionDecember 11, 2018 · 238 km S 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:
- 1929M8.1
South Sandwich Islands
27 Jun 1929 · 194 km away
- 2021M8.1
South Sandwich Islands
12 Aug 2021 · 240 km away
tsunami
- 1961M7.7
South Sandwich Islands
5 Sep 1961 · 176 km away
- 1961M7.7
South Sandwich Islands
8 Sep 1961 · 32 km away
- 2021M7.5
South Sandwich Islands
12 Aug 2021 · 165 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.