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 4.7
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 · 11/2/26
Positions and magnitudes from the USGS catalogue; heights exaggerated. Base map: local NASA Blue Marble.
Catalogued earthquakes M ≥ 4.5
312,350
1900 → 2026-11-02
USGS ComCat earthquakes M ≥ 4.5 (FDSN event service) · U.S. Government work, public domain; cite USGS ANSS ComCat · 11/2/26
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 · 11/2/26
Current · provisional
Latest catalogued earthquake
M 4.7
2026-11-02 07:59 UTC · 100 km SSE of Palekastro, Greece
USGS ComCat earthquakes M ≥ 4.5 (FDSN event service) · U.S. Government work, public domain; cite USGS ANSS ComCat · 11/2/26
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 · 11/2/26
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 · 11/2/26
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 · 11/2/26
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 · 11/2/26
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 · 10/30/26
| # | 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 · 11/2/26
| Date (UTC) | M | Place | Depth | Lat., lon. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938-11-07 19:12 | 6.4 mw | 167 km E of Namie, Japan | 25 km | 37.35, 142.89 |
| 1938-11-07 04:15 | 6.5 mw | 127 km E of Iwaki, Japan | 25 km | 37.00, 142.32 |
| 1938-11-07 02:28 | 6.3 mw | 64 km E of Iwaki, Japan | 25 km | 37.07, 141.61 |
| 1938-11-07 01:38 | 6.8 mw | 130 km ESE of Namie, Japan | 30 km | 37.04, 142.36 |
| 1938-11-07 00:47 | 6.2 mw | 119 km E of Iwaki, Japan | 25 km | 37.02, 142.23 |
| 1938-11-06 21:38 | 7.6 mw | 141 km ESE of Namie, Japan | 25 km | 37.01, 142.48 |
| 1938-11-06 21:03 | 6.3 mw | 105 km E of Iwaki, Japan | 25 km | 36.89, 142.05 |
| 1938-11-06 17:19 | 6.2 mw | 109 km E of Namie, Japan | 25 km | 37.34, 142.23 |
| 1938-11-06 08:53 | 7.7 mw | 116 km E of Namie, Japan | 30 km | 37.38, 142.30 |
| 1938-11-05 21:23 | 6.0 mw | 131 km ESE of Namie, Japan | 25 km | 37.02, 142.37 |
| 1938-11-05 10:50 | 7.7 mw | 116 km ESE of Namie, Japan | 35 km | 37.15, 142.24 |
| 1938-11-05 08:43 | 7.8 mw | 105 km E of Iwaki, Japan | 35 km | 36.97, 142.06 |
| 1938-10-29 13:08 | 6.2 mw | 51 km SE of Hasaki, Japan | 15 km | 35.47, 141.30 |
| 1938-10-23 15:01 | 6.1 mw | 198 km SE of António Enes, Mozambique | 15 km | -17.30, 41.40 |
| 1938-10-23 02:28 | 6.0 mw | 35 km SW of Gewan?, Ethiopia | 15 km | 9.94, 40.42 |
| 1938-10-21 23:35 | 6.0 mw | east of the North Island of New Zealand | 15 km | -35.76, -178.80 |
| 1938-10-21 20:24 | 6.1 mw | Carlsberg Ridge | 15 km | 1.92, 66.68 |
| 1938-10-20 13:14 | 6.0 mw | 28 km ESE of Debre S?na, Ethiopia | 15 km | 9.72, 39.99 |
| 1938-10-20 02:19 | 7.2 mw | 70 km SE of Maumere, Indonesia | 66 km | -9.00, 122.73 |
| 1938-10-19 04:13 | 7.0 mw | 21 km NW of Ölgii, Mongolia | 10 km | 49.08, 89.72 |
| 1938-10-13 15:26 | 6.3 mw | 32 km SSW of Hualien City, Taiwan | 15 km | 23.73, 121.43 |
| 1938-10-12 00:34 | 6.8 mw | 202 km ENE of Miyako, Japan | 15 km | 40.56, 144.00 |
| 1938-10-11 00:08 | 6.1 mw | 199 km NE of Laikit, Laikit II (Dimembe), Indonesia | 15 km | 2.64, 126.35 |
| 1938-10-10 20:48 | 7.2 mw | 182 km WNW of Tobelo, Indonesia | 15 km | 2.40, 126.51 |
| 1938-10-10 02:56 | 6.0 mw | central East Pacific Rise | 15 km | -5.12, -105.82 |
| 1938-10-09 16:36 | 6.2 mw | Macquarie Island region | 10 km | -59.34, 159.91 |
| 1938-10-07 16:23 | 6.1 mw | 258 km SSE of Port Blair, India | 35 km | 9.54, 93.73 |
| 1938-10-07 00:51 | 6.0 mw | 115 km SE of Tondano, Indonesia | 25 km | 0.66, 125.73 |
| 1938-10-04 08:25 | 6.0 mw | New Britain region, Papua New Guinea | 35 km | -5.63, 151.15 |
| 1938-09-28 17:13 | 6.2 mw | 213 km W of Lata, Solomon Islands | 15 km | -10.97, 163.86 |
| 1938-09-27 09:15 | 6.3 mw | 145 km ESE of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea | 35 km | -6.02, 151.36 |
| 1938-09-27 01:31 | 6.3 mw | 47 km ESE of Kemis?, Ethiopia | 15 km | 10.49, 40.24 |
| 1938-09-21 17:51 | 6.7 mw | 60 km ESE of Takahagi, Japan | 15 km | 36.45, 141.31 |
| 1938-09-18 02:50 | 6.0 mw | 14 km WSW of Xylókastro, Greece | 10 km | 38.03, 22.48 |
| 1938-09-07 03:03 | 7.1 mw | 21 km SSW of Hualien City, Taiwan | 15 km | 23.81, 121.51 |
| 1938-09-05 13:42 | 6.2 mw | Pacific-Antarctic Ridge | 15 km | -55.02, -147.95 |
| 1938-09-01 21:48 | 6.3 mw | 102 km S of La Libertad, El Salvador | 15 km | 12.56, -89.26 |
| 1938-09-01 01:54 | 6.1 mw | 81 km E of Hualien City, Taiwan | 25 km | 23.87, 122.40 |
| 1938-08-30 10:49 | 6.7 mw | 35 km NNE of Wewak, Papua New Guinea | 15 km | -3.25, 143.73 |
| 1938-08-29 14:22 | 6.8 mw | 14 km E of San Pedro, Philippines | 15 km | 12.04, 124.13 |
| 1938-08-25 00:28 | 6.4 mw | 232 km SSW of Bengkulu, Indonesia | 15 km | -5.71, 101.38 |
| 1938-08-18 18:06 | 6.1 mw | 11 km ENE of Naze, Japan | 35 km | 28.40, 129.60 |
| 1938-08-18 08:30 | 6.1 mw | 41 km SE of Bengkulu, Indonesia | 65 km | -4.06, 102.53 |
| 1938-08-16 03:28 | 7.0 mw | 31 km SE of Falam, Myanmar | 75 km | 22.72, 93.91 |
| 1938-07-29 12:06 | 6.4 mw | 150 km W of Pariaman, Indonesia | 35 km | -0.52, 98.77 |
| 1938-07-27 15:55 | 6.1 mw | northeast of Taiwan | 15 km | 25.20, 124.83 |
| 1938-07-24 12:12 | 6.1 mw | 56 km SSW of Unalaska, Alaska | 35 km | 53.39, -166.78 |
| 1938-07-22 06:48 | 6.6 mw | 233 km SW of La Cruz de Loreto, Mexico | 20 km | 18.66, -107.16 |
| 1938-07-19 23:23 | 6.1 mw | 8 km NW of Fylí, Greece | 15 km | 38.15, 23.59 |
| 1938-07-14 22:31 | 6.0 mw | south of the Fiji Islands | 35 km | -22.21, 175.43 |
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 Nov 2, 2026 · SHA-256 b884f435dbf0… - 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 30, 2026 · SHA-256 d5b49c593d3a…