Earth · earthquakes
A year of strong earthquakes
Each spike is a magnitude 5.5+ earthquake of the last twelve months (USGS ComCat); its height follows the magnitude, its colour the depth. Rings mark the strongest. Earthquakes outline the plate boundaries.
- < 70 km (shallow)
- 70–300 km (intermediate)
- > 300 km (deep)
Latest catalogued earthquake
M 4.6
Strongest in the catalogue
M 9.5
Earthquakes M ≥ 7
1,622
USGS ComCat earthquakes M ≥ 4.5 (FDSN event service) · U.S. Government work, public domain; cite USGS ANSS ComCat · 10/29/26
Positions and magnitudes from the USGS catalogue; heights exaggerated. Base map: local NASA Blue Marble.
Catalogued earthquakes M ≥ 4.5
312,258
1900 → 2026-10-29
USGS ComCat earthquakes M ≥ 4.5 (FDSN event service) · U.S. Government work, public domain; cite USGS ANSS ComCat · 10/29/26
Current · provisional
Earthquakes M ≥ 7
1,622
including 100 M ≥ 8
USGS ComCat earthquakes M ≥ 4.5 (FDSN event service) · U.S. Government work, public domain; cite USGS ANSS ComCat · 10/29/26
Current · provisional
Latest catalogued earthquake
M 4.6
2026-10-29 10:38 UTC · Pulau Pulau Tanimbar, Indonesia
USGS ComCat earthquakes M ≥ 4.5 (FDSN event service) · U.S. Government work, public domain; cite USGS ANSS ComCat · 10/29/26
Strongest in the catalogue
M 9.5
1960-05-22 · 1960 Great Chilean Earthquake (Valdivia Earthquake)
USGS ComCat earthquakes M ≥ 4.5 (FDSN event service) · U.S. Government work, public domain; cite USGS ANSS ComCat · 10/29/26
Earthquakes M ≥ 4.5 in the last 30 days of the catalogue
USGS ComCat earthquakes M ≥ 4.5 (FDSN event service) · U.S. Government work, public domain; cite USGS ANSS ComCat · 10/29/26
Earthquakes M ≥ 7 and M ≥ 6 per year
USGS ComCat earthquakes M ≥ 4.5 (FDSN event service) · U.S. Government work, public domain; cite USGS ANSS ComCat · 10/29/26
Current · provisional
Show the data as a table
Earthquakes M ≥ 4.5 per year
USGS ComCat earthquakes M ≥ 4.5 (FDSN event service) · U.S. Government work, public domain; cite USGS ANSS ComCat · 10/29/26
Current · provisional
Show the data as a table
Ten strongest earthquakes in the USGS catalogue (since 1900)
| # | M | Date | Place | Depth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9.5 mw | 1960-05-22 | 1960 Great Chilean Earthquake (Valdivia Earthquake) | 25 km |
| 2 | 9.2 mw | 1964-03-28 | The 1964 Prince William Sound, Alaska Earthquake | 25 km |
| 3 | 9.1 mw | 2004-12-25 | 2004 Sumatra - Andaman Islands Earthquake | 30 km |
| 4 | 9.1 mww | 2011-03-11 | 2011 Great Tohoku Earthquake, Japan | 29 km |
| 5 | 9.0 mw | 1952-11-04 | 89 km ESE of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia | 22 km |
| 6 | 8.8 mw | 1906-01-31 | 1906 Ecuador-Colombia Earthquake | 20 km |
| 7 | 8.8 mww | 2010-02-27 | 2010 Maule, Chile Earthquake | 23 km |
| 8 | 8.8 mww | 2025-07-29 | 2025 Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia Earthquake | 35 km |
| 9 | 8.7 mw | 1965-02-04 | 1965 Western Aleutian Islands (Hawadax/Rat Islands) Earthquake | 30 km |
| 10 | 8.6 mw | 1946-04-01 | The 1946 Unimak Island, Alaska Earthquake | 15 km |
Deadliest earthquakes (NCEI significant earthquake database)
NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database · U.S. Government work, public domain; cite NCEI/WDS · 10/23/26
| # | Year | Place | M | Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1556 | CHINA: SHAANXI PROVINCE | 8.0 | 830,000 |
| 2 | 2010 | HAITI: PORT-AU-PRINCE tsunami | 7.0 | 316,000 |
| 3 | 115 | TURKEY: ANTAKYA (ANTIOCH) tsunami | 7.5 | 260,000 |
| 4 | 525 | TURKEY: ANTAKYA (ANTIOCH), SAMANDAG | 7.0 | 250,000 |
| 5 | 1976 | CHINA: NE: TANGSHAN | 7.5 | 242,769 |
| 6 | 1920 | CHINA: GANSU PROVINCE, SHANXI PROVINCE tsunami | 8.3 | 235,502 |
| 7 | 1139 | AZERBAIJAN: GYZNDZHA | — | 230,000 |
| 8 | 2004 | INDONESIA: SUMATRA: ACEH: OFF WEST COAST tsunami | 9.1 | 227,899 |
| 9 | 856 | IRAN: DAMGHAN, QUMIS | 7.9 | 200,000 |
| 10 | 893 | ARMENIA: DVIN; IRAN: ARDABIL | — | 150,000 |
Filterable USGS catalogue
USGS ComCat earthquakes M ≥ 4.5 (FDSN event service) · U.S. Government work, public domain; cite USGS ANSS ComCat · 10/29/26
| Date (UTC) | M | Place | Depth | Lat., lon. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986-10-22 07:59 | 6.0 mw | 31 km ENE of Lata, Solomon Islands | 165 km | -10.57, 166.04 |
| 1986-10-20 13:41 | 6.1 mw | Kermadec Islands region | 33 km | -27.93, -176.13 |
| 1986-10-20 05:46 | 7.7 mw | Kermadec Islands region | 29 km | -28.12, -176.37 |
| 1986-10-17 06:32 | 6.4 mw | 151 km WNW of Tual, Indonesia | 67 km | -5.27, 131.43 |
| 1986-10-14 15:53 | 6.8 mw | 167 km ESE of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea | 41 km | -5.03, 153.62 |
| 1986-10-14 12:07 | 6.2 mw | Prince Edward Islands region | 10 km | -43.14, 41.78 |
| 1986-09-25 18:06 | 6.0 mw | 240 km SE of Sarangani, Philippines | 45 km | 3.68, 126.78 |
| 1986-09-25 04:15 | 6.0 mw | 150 km SW of Empaque Tarriba, Mexico | 10 km | 23.03, -108.06 |
| 1986-09-17 19:25 | 6.2 mw | Carlsberg Ridge | 10 km | 10.50, 56.98 |
| 1986-09-16 16:20 | 6.7 mw | Mariana Islands region | 48 km | 19.38, 146.30 |
| 1986-09-14 18:58 | 6.1 mw | 65 km WSW of Panguna, Papua New Guinea | 59 km | -6.47, 154.92 |
| 1986-09-13 15:24 | 6.0 mw | 1 km ENE of Paralía Vérgas, Greece | 11 km | 37.01, 22.18 |
| 1986-09-13 13:17 | 6.5 mw | Kermadec Islands region | 215 km | -31.83, -179.94 |
| 1986-09-13 07:28 | 6.3 mw | Scotia Sea | 10 km | -60.80, -36.78 |
| 1986-09-12 21:57 | 6.5 mw | 95 km SSE of Akhiok, Alaska | 31 km | 56.20, -153.40 |
| 1986-09-10 22:18 | 6.5 mw | 95 km SSE of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea | 51 km | -5.19, 152.44 |
| 1986-09-05 00:47 | 6.1 mw | South Sandwich Islands region | 28 km | -59.49, -29.53 |
| 1986-08-30 19:28 | 7.2 mw | 7 km NNE of Ca?oca, Romania | 132 km | 45.55, 26.32 |
| 1986-08-26 07:43 | 6.0 mw | 102 km WSW of Wuwei, China | 8 km | 37.72, 101.50 |
| 1986-08-23 21:47 | 6.6 mw | south of the Kermadec Islands | 32 km | -34.55, 179.29 |
| 1986-08-20 19:23 | 6.4 mw | Southern Qinghai, China | 33 km | 34.57, 91.63 |
| 1986-08-20 05:05 | 6.3 mw | 134 km E of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea | 79 km | -5.32, 151.33 |
| 1986-08-17 23:59 | 6.2 mw | 76 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga | 20 km | -20.49, -174.21 |
| 1986-08-17 13:31 | 6.3 ms | 110 km WNW of Tobelo, Indonesia | 33 km | 2.16, 127.11 |
| 1986-08-17 13:27 | 6.4 mw | 131 km WNW of Tobelo, Indonesia | 31 km | 2.28, 126.96 |
| 1986-08-16 19:08 | 6.1 mw | 150 km NW of Ternate, Indonesia | 33 km | 1.76, 126.44 |
| 1986-08-16 15:19 | 6.4 mw | 152 km NW of Ternate, Indonesia | 33 km | 1.86, 126.52 |
| 1986-08-15 05:40 | 6.3 mw | 161 km NW of Ternate, Indonesia | 33 km | 1.93, 126.48 |
| 1986-08-14 17:39 | 7.5 mw | 146 km NW of Ternate, Indonesia | 33 km | 1.80, 126.52 |
| 1986-08-10 02:40 | 6.2 mw | 40 km NE of Tobelo, Indonesia | 104 km | 1.98, 128.27 |
| 1986-07-25 21:41 | 6.1 mw | 177 km W of Itoman, Japan | 22 km | 26.38, 125.92 |
| 1986-07-21 12:42 | 6.4 ml | The 1986 Chalfant Valley, California Earthquake | 9 km | 37.54, -118.44 |
| 1986-07-19 20:32 | 6.0 mw | 64 km SW of Unalaska, Alaska | 33 km | 53.52, -167.30 |
| 1986-07-19 04:53 | 6.0 mw | 51 km SW of Unalaska, Alaska | 33 km | 53.60, -167.17 |
| 1986-07-19 03:59 | 6.3 mw | Kuril Islands | 141 km | 47.26, 151.13 |
| 1986-07-16 10:41 | 6.6 mw | 12 km WNW of Isangel, Vanuatu | 111 km | -19.51, 169.16 |
| 1986-07-09 21:10 | 6.8 mw | 155 km NW of Ternate, Indonesia | 28 km | 1.90, 126.52 |
| 1986-07-08 07:20 | 6.0 mw | The 1986 North Palm Springs, California Earthquake | 9 km | 34.00, -116.61 |
| 1986-07-07 14:26 | 6.5 mw | Carlsberg Ridge | 8 km | 10.39, 56.83 |
| 1986-07-06 17:24 | 6.0 mw | 238 km E of Leh, India | 9 km | 34.42, 80.16 |
| 1986-07-05 20:09 | 6.0 mw | 13 km NNW of El Triunfo, Mexico | 112 km | 15.47, -92.58 |
| 1986-07-05 17:57 | 6.1 mw | west of Macquarie Island | 10 km | -60.72, 153.77 |
| 1986-06-30 22:49 | 6.1 mw | 150 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga | 33 km | -15.56, -172.45 |
| 1986-06-29 09:57 | 6.1 mw | Kermadec Islands region | 10 km | -28.02, -177.96 |
| 1986-06-28 03:03 | 6.5 mw | 151 km NW of Nuku‘alofa, Tonga | 211 km | -20.04, -176.06 |
| 1986-06-24 17:31 | 6.0 mw | Kermadec Islands region | 11 km | -28.24, -178.25 |
| 1986-06-24 04:56 | 6.4 mw | north of Ascension Island | 22 km | -0.08, -17.82 |
| 1986-06-24 01:11 | 7.2 mw | 44 km SSW of Angoram, Papua New Guinea | 102 km | -4.45, 143.94 |
| 1986-06-24 00:53 | 6.6 mw | 46 km SSE of Katsuura, Japan | 63 km | 34.79, 140.60 |
| 1986-06-20 15:12 | 6.1 mw | 263 km NE of Saga, China | 33 km | 31.24, 86.85 |
Method and sources
The USGS ComCat (ANSS) catalogue is read through the FDSN web service, one request per calendar year since 1900 for magnitudes ≥ 4.5; the last two years are re-read on each update because solutions are revised. Magnitudes are those published (mb, Ms, Mw, ml…) and are not converted; depth is the hypocentre depth in km.
Yearly counts are computed on the server from imported events of type “earthquake” (explosions and other types are kept but excluded from counts). Historical earthquakes and their tolls come from the NCEI/WDS significant earthquake database, dated to the year when the day is unknown.
Reading these data
The global catalogue is homogeneous neither in time nor in magnitude: completeness at M 4.5 is only reached after 1973 and still improves afterwards. Magnitudes of different types are not comparable; the great historical earthquakes (e.g. Valdivia 1960, M 9.5) are re-evaluations. No link with solar activity or tides is established; see the Correspondences pages.
SOURCES OF THIS PAGE
- USGS ComCat earthquakes M ≥ 4.5 (FDSN event service)
-
U.S. Geological Survey, Earthquake Hazards Program (2017). Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS) Comprehensive Catalog of Earthquake Events and Products. Accessed through the FDSN event web service.
· doi:10.5066/F7MS3QZH · source page ↗
Licence : U.S. Government work, public domain; cite USGS ANSS ComCat · retrieved on Oct 29, 2026 · SHA-256 8dc4ba251068… - NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database
-
National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.
· doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K · source page ↗
Licence : U.S. Government work, public domain; cite NCEI/WDS · retrieved on Oct 23, 2026 · SHA-256 f99e14bcd8f1…