Reviewed by USGS35y ago
M5.3 earthquake in South Sandwich Islands region
Thursday, March 12, 1992, 03:44:19 UTC · 55.990°S, 27.093°W
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck in South Sandwich Islands region on Thursday, March 12, 1992, 03:44:19 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.3 on January 19, 1992.
- Magnitude
- 5.3
- Moderate · mb
- Depth
- 33 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
1 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/11 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 3 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
74 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Sandwich and South American plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
33 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 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.5 on March 20, 1992. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 536 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.11929 South Sandwich Islands EarthquakeJune 27, 1929 · 157 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.8South Sandwich Islands regionMay 26, 1964 · 51 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.2South Sandwich Islands regionDecember 27, 1991 · 114 km E of this epicenter
- 7.1South Sandwich Islands regionSeptember 8, 1961 · 41 km S of this epicenter
- 6.9South Sandwich Islands regionAugust 18, 1930 · 60 km W of this epicenter
- 6.9South Sandwich Islands regionSeptember 13, 1921 · 106 km W of this epicenter
- 6.8South Sandwich Islands regionNovember 2, 1943 · 107 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.8South Sandwich Islands regionJanuary 30, 1963 · 103 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 3 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1929M8.1
South Sandwich Islands
27 Jun 1929 · 157 km away
- 1961M7.7
South Sandwich Islands
5 Sep 1961 · 224 km away
- 1961M7.7
South Sandwich Islands
8 Sep 1961 · 32 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.