Reviewed by USGS22d ago
M5.1 earthquake central Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Friday, September 4, 2026, 23:38:40 UTC · 9.383°N, 40.810°W
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck central Mid-Atlantic Ridge on Friday, September 4, 2026, 23:38:40 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.1 on July 23, 2026.
- Magnitude
- 5.1
- Moderate · mww
- Depth
- 10 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
674 tons of TNT
That is about 1/22 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
0 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the African and South American plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
10 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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km since this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 88 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.1northern Mid-Atlantic RidgeOctober 13, 1925 · 218 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.1central Mid-Atlantic RidgeNovember 1, 1984 · 259 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.0northern Mid-Atlantic RidgeFebruary 22, 1929 · 194 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.0northern Mid-Atlantic RidgeJune 2, 1996 · 223 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.9northern Mid-Atlantic RidgeFebruary 8, 2008 · 186 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.8central Mid-Atlantic RidgeApril 21, 1919 · 64 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.7northern Mid-Atlantic RidgeJuly 13, 1906 · 254 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.7central Mid-Atlantic RidgeApril 24, 1947 · 271 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 1 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1925M7.5
North Atlantic Ridge
13 Oct 1925 · 222 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.