Reviewed by USGS12d ago
M5.4 earthquake northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Monday, September 14, 2026, 02:56:17 UTC · 25.545°N, 45.383°W
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge on Monday, September 14, 2026, 02:56:17 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 M6.6 on March 21, 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
4 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North American and African 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 107 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.8northern Mid-Atlantic RidgeJanuary 9, 1922 · 199 km S of this epicenter
- 6.6northern Mid-Atlantic RidgeMarch 21, 2026 · 192 km S of this epicenter
- 6.4northern Mid-Atlantic RidgeMay 19, 1963 · 207 km S of this epicenter
- 6.4northern Mid-Atlantic RidgeJune 10, 1991 · 197 km S of this epicenter
- 6.3northern Mid-Atlantic RidgeMarch 26, 1980 · 187 km S of this epicenter
- 6.2northern Mid-Atlantic RidgeOctober 14, 1924 · 166 km S of this epicenter
- 6.0northern Mid-Atlantic RidgeJuly 27, 2014 · 203 km S of this epicenter
- 6.0northern Mid-Atlantic RidgeJune 6, 2009 · 201 km S of this epicenter