QuakeScout
Magnitude5.0

Reviewed by USGSJapan region4d ago

M5.0 earthquake in Volcano Islands, Japan region

Tuesday, September 22, 2026, 05:18:24 UTC · 23.133°N, 142.437°E

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck in Volcano Islands, Japan region on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, 05:18:24 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.2 on August 27, 2026.

Magnitude
5.0
Moderate · mb
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 earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search area

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

477 tons of TNT

That is about 1/32 of the Hiroshima bomb. Each whole step in magnitude is about 32 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

5 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Philippine Sea and Mariana 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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km since this event; the largest was M4.9 on September 22, 2026. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M3M4M51h6h1d3dMainshock M5.0
Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.
  1. 4.9Volcano Islands, Japan region4d ago · 18 km SW of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 403 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.9Volcano Islands, Japan regionNovember 24, 1914 · 96 km S of this epicenter
  2. 7.6Volcano Islands, Japan regionMarch 28, 2000 · 159 km SE of this epicenter
  3. 7.5Volcano Islands, Japan regionFebruary 24, 1934 · 161 km E of this epicenter
  4. 7.5Volcano Islands, Japan regionSeptember 28, 2007 · 127 km S of this epicenter
  5. 7.2Mariana Islands regionJuly 11, 1905 · 229 km SE of this epicenter
  6. 7.2Volcano Islands, Japan regionAugust 27, 1954 · 112 km NE of this epicenter
  7. 7.2Volcano Islands, Japan regionMay 30, 1955 · 132 km N of this epicenter
  8. 7.2Volcano Islands, Japan regionFebruary 1, 1954 · 147 km NE 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:

  1. 1914M8.1

    Volcano Islands

    24 Nov 1914 · 139 km away

  2. 2000M7.6

    Volcano Islands

    28 Mar 2000 · 159 km away

  3. 2007M7.5

    Volcano Islands

    28 Sep 2007 · 127 km away

  4. 2019M5.2

    Bonin Islands

    11 Mar 2019 · 292 km away

    tsunami

  5. 2017M5.1

    Bonin Islands

    15 Nov 2017 · 278 km away

    tsunami

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

Nearby trackers

Closest city pages