Reviewed by USGSJapan region4d ago
M4.9 earthquake in Volcano Islands, Japan region
Tuesday, September 22, 2026, 06:11:10 UTC · 23.003°N, 142.339°E
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck in Volcano Islands, Japan region on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, 06:11:10 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.0 on September 22, 2026.
- Magnitude
- 4.9
- Light · 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
338 tons of TNT
That is about 1/45 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 1 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
6 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 50 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km since this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 396 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.9Volcano Islands, Japan regionNovember 24, 1914 · 83 km S of this epicenter
- 7.6Volcano Islands, Japan regionMarch 28, 2000 · 161 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.5Volcano Islands, Japan regionFebruary 24, 1934 · 171 km E of this epicenter
- 7.5Volcano Islands, Japan regionSeptember 28, 2007 · 115 km S of this epicenter
- 7.2Mariana Islands regionJuly 11, 1905 · 226 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.2Volcano Islands, Japan regionAugust 27, 1954 · 130 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2Volcano Islands, Japan regionMay 30, 1955 · 147 km N of this epicenter
- 7.2Volcano Islands, Japan regionFebruary 1, 1954 · 164 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 4 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1914M8.1
Volcano Islands
24 Nov 1914 · 131 km away
- 2000M7.6
Volcano Islands
28 Mar 2000 · 161 km away
- 2007M7.5
Volcano Islands
28 Sep 2007 · 115 km away
- 2017M5.1
Bonin Islands
15 Nov 2017 · 288 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.