M5.1 earthquake 80 km SSW of San Jose Village, Northern Mariana Islands

Wednesday, September 16, 2026, 18:06:40 UTC · 14.272°N, 145.420°E

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 80 km SSW of San Jose Village, Northern Mariana Islands on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, 18:06:40 UTC, at a depth of 106.6 km (intermediate). USGS received 10 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of III (weak). The USGS PAGER alert is green: low likelihood of casualties and damage. It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.1 on September 16, 2026.

Magnitude: 5.1; Moderate · mww
Depth: 107 km; Intermediate
Felt reports: 10; Max intensity III
Est. shaking: IV; Light (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

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

120 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Philippine Sea and Mariana plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.

Depth: intermediate

107 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

Reports sent by people to USGS, grouped by place (most reports first). Intensity uses the Modified Mercalli scale (I–X): what people felt, not the magnitude.

Place	Intensity	Reports	Distance
96911<br>0.302	III · Weak	4	151 km
96929<br>0.311	II · Weak	3	142 km
96915<br>0.320	III · Weak	2	165 km
96952<br>0.330	II · Weak	1	151 km

I felt it — report to USGS ↗

USGS PAGER estimate

Who was exposed to shaking

Modelled from the ShakeMap and population data. Alert level green: low likelihood of casualties and damage.

III · Weak shaking: 199,000 people

Estimated shaking in nearby towns

HagtaPopulation 1,100III · Weak
MainaPopulation 122,000III · Weak

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 787 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 15 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:

1993M7.8
Tuman Bay, Apra Harbor
8 Aug 1993 · 158 km away · intensity IX
$250 million damagetsunami
1849M7.5
Guam
25 Jan 1849 · 231 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1909M8.0
Guam
9 Dec 1909 · 202 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1892M7.5
Guam
16 May 1892 · 231 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
2001M7.0
Guam
12 Oct 2001 · 183 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
1825
Ladrones Island
Apr 1825 · 231 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers