Reviewed by USGS16d ago
M5.4 earthquake southern East Pacific Rise
Thursday, September 10, 2026, 18:21:19 UTC · 34.775°S, 109.145°W
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck southern East Pacific Rise on Thursday, September 10, 2026, 18:21:19 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). The USGS PAGER alert is green: low likelihood of casualties and damage. It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.9 on September 2, 2026.
- Magnitude
- 5.4
- Moderate · mww
- Depth
- 10 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- Green
- Impact estimate
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
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
5 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Antarctic and Nazca 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 populated area was estimated to feel noticeable shaking.
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 161 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.0southern East Pacific RiseMarch 20, 1920 · 187 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.7southern East Pacific RiseMay 19, 2021 · 192 km N of this epicenter
- 6.5southern East Pacific RiseJune 10, 1997 · 148 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.3southern East Pacific RiseMarch 7, 1940 · 216 km N of this epicenter
- 6.3southern East Pacific RiseFebruary 23, 2024 · 153 km W of this epicenter
- 6.3southern East Pacific RiseOctober 1, 1988 · 288 km E of this epicenter
- 6.2southern East Pacific RiseAugust 28, 1952 · 274 km E of this epicenter
- 6.2southern East Pacific RiseJuly 14, 1929 · 69 km NW of this epicenter