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

2026-10-24 09:48 UTC

72 km S of Basco, Philippines

Strongest in the catalogue

M 9.5

1960-05-22

1960 Great Chilean Earthquake (Valdivia Earthquake)

Earthquakes M ≥ 7

1,620

1900 → 2026

USGS ComCat earthquakes M ≥ 4.5 (FDSN event service) · U.S. Government work, public domain; cite USGS ANSS ComCat · 10/24/26

Positions and magnitudes from the USGS catalogue; heights exaggerated. Base map: local NASA Blue Marble.

Catalogued earthquakes M ≥ 4.5

312,089

1900 → 2026-10-24

USGS ComCat earthquakes M ≥ 4.5 (FDSN event service) · U.S. Government work, public domain; cite USGS ANSS ComCat · 10/24/26

Earthquakes M ≥ 7

1,620

including 100 M ≥ 8

USGS ComCat earthquakes M ≥ 4.5 (FDSN event service) · U.S. Government work, public domain; cite USGS ANSS ComCat · 10/24/26

Latest catalogued earthquake

M 4.7

2026-10-24 09:48 UTC · 72 km S of Basco, Philippines

USGS ComCat earthquakes M ≥ 4.5 (FDSN event service) · U.S. Government work, public domain; cite USGS ANSS ComCat · 10/24/26

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 · 10/24/26

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 · 10/24/26

USGS ComCat epicentres; size proportional to magnitude, colour by depth (hypocentre). Base map: local NASA Blue Marble tiles (OpenStreetMap available in the layer switcher, loaded only if chosen).

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 · 10/24/26 USGS ComCat earthquakes M ≥ 4.5 (FDSN event service) · U.S. Government work, public domain; cite USGS ANSS ComCat · 10/24/26

Show the data as a table

Number of earthquakes per calendar year in the USGS ComCat catalogue. The current year is provisional. The 1973 point is marked: before that date the global catalogue is not complete at these magnitudes (Centennial and ISC-GEM contributions).

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 · 10/24/26

Show the data as a table

Completeness at M 4.5 depends on the global network; the rise after 1973, and again in the 1990s–2000s, reflects denser station coverage first, not increasing seismicity.

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

Death tolls from the NCEI/WDS database (direct and indirect totals, including tsunamis); old estimates are highly uncertain.

Filterable USGS catalogue USGS ComCat earthquakes M ≥ 4.5 (FDSN event service) · U.S. Government work, public domain; cite USGS ANSS ComCat · 10/24/26

Year

Minimum magnitude

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Date (UTC)	M	Place	Depth	Lat., lon.
2013-04-16 20:55	6.6 mww	23 km ESE of Aitape, Papua New Guinea	13 km	-3.21, 142.54
2013-04-16 08:44	7.7 mww	79 km ESE of Kh?sh, Iran	80 km	28.03, 62.00
2013-04-13 23:32	6.6 mww	98 km W of Panguna, Papua New Guinea	31 km	-6.48, 154.61
2013-04-13 20:49	6.0 mww	51 km NNE of Isangel, Vanuatu	280 km	-19.14, 169.54
2013-04-09 09:52	6.4 mww	95 km SE of Bushehr, Iran	12 km	28.43, 51.59
2013-04-06 02:42	7.0 mww	260 km WSW of Abepura, Indonesia	66 km	-3.52, 138.48
2013-04-05 11:00	6.3 mww	13 km NNW of Zarubino, Russia	563 km	42.74, 131.00
2013-04-01 16:53	6.0 mww	104 km E of Yamada, Japan	14 km	39.53, 143.17
2013-03-25 22:02	6.2 mww	3 km NW of Fraijanes, Guatemala	189 km	14.49, -90.46
2013-03-24 07:13	6.1 mww	Vanuatu region	10 km	-20.76, 173.37
2013-03-10 21:51	6.5 mww	36 km E of Finschhafen, Papua New Guinea	28 km	-6.60, 148.17
2013-03-01 12:20	6.5 mww	87 km SE of Ozernovskiy, Russia	29 km	50.96, 157.41
2013-03-01 11:53	6.4 mww	94 km SE of Ozernovskiy, Russia	33 km	50.90, 157.45
2013-02-28 13:05	6.9 mww	81 km SE of Ozernovskiy, Russia	41 km	50.95, 157.28
2013-02-22 11:01	6.1 mww	32 km E of Suncho Corral, Argentina	575 km	-27.93, -63.10
2013-02-16 03:37	6.1 mww	16 km SE of Caburan, Philippines	105 km	5.81, 125.75
2013-02-14 12:13	6.6 mww	183 km SW of Belaya Gora, Russia	11 km	67.63, 142.51
2013-02-10 17:39	6.0 mww	43 km WSW of Lata, Solomon Islands	11 km	-10.94, 165.46
2013-02-09 20:02	6.6 mww	30 km SSW of Lata, Solomon Islands	18 km	-10.99, 165.74
2013-02-09 13:16	6.9 mww	2 km NNE of Yacuanquer, Colombia	145 km	1.14, -77.39
2013-02-08 14:26	7.1 mww	32 km SE of Lata, Solomon Islands	21 km	-10.93, 166.02
2013-02-08 10:12	6.8 mww	22 km ESE of Lata, Solomon Islands	12 km	-10.84, 165.97
2013-02-07 17:59	6.7 mww	33 km SSW of Lata, Solomon Islands	11 km	-11.00, 165.66
2013-02-06 23:30	6.0 mww	139 km SW of Lata, Solomon Islands	8 km	-11.66, 164.94
2013-02-06 10:53	6.0 mww	57 km S of Lata, Solomon Islands	14 km	-11.24, 165.73
2013-02-06 09:33	6.0 mwb	113 km W of Lata, Solomon Islands	10 km	-10.64, 164.76
2013-02-06 05:35	6.1 mwc	136 km W of Lata, Solomon Islands	10 km	-10.79, 164.55
2013-02-06 00:54	7.0 mww	33 km NW of Lata, Solomon Islands	9 km	-10.50, 165.59
2013-02-06 00:23	7.1 mww	112 km WSW of Lata, Solomon Islands	10 km	-11.18, 164.88
2013-02-06 00:12	8.0 mww	2013 Santa Cruz Islands Earthquake	24 km	-10.80, 165.11
2013-02-05 23:07	6.0 mww	62 km WSW of Lata, Solomon Islands	11 km	-10.86, 165.25
2013-02-02 17:58	6.0 mwb	58 km WSW of Lata, Solomon Islands	6 km	-10.89, 165.28
2013-02-02 13:17	6.9 mww	18 km SSW of Obihiro, Japan	107 km	42.77, 143.09
2013-02-01 21:18	6.4 mww	63 km SW of Lata, Solomon Islands	10 km	-11.12, 165.38
2013-02-01 21:16	6.3 mww	49 km WSW of Lata, Solomon Islands	10 km	-10.90, 165.38
2013-02-01 04:36	6.0 mww	50 km SW of Lata, Solomon Islands	15 km	-11.10, 165.53
2013-01-31 02:33	6.1 mww	63 km E of Lata, Solomon Islands	9 km	-10.64, 166.37
2013-01-30 22:03	6.1 mww	63 km E of Lata, Solomon Islands	10 km	-10.63, 166.37
2013-01-30 19:15	6.8 mww	54 km N of Vallenar, Chile	45 km	-28.09, -70.65
2013-01-28 15:38	6.1 mww	61 km SE of Kegen, Kazakhstan	15 km	42.60, 79.71
2013-01-21 21:22	6.1 mww	50 km S of Sigli, Indonesia	12 km	4.93, 95.91
2013-01-15 15:09	6.1 mww	Pacific-Antarctic Ridge	10 km	-62.57, -161.43
2013-01-05 07:58	7.5 mw	110 km SW of Edna Bay, Alaska	9 km	55.23, -134.86
2012-12-21 21:28	6.7 mww	59 km SSW of Sola, Vanuatu	201 km	-14.34, 167.29
2012-12-17 08:16	6.1 mww	118 km ENE of Luwuk, Indonesia	44 km	-0.65, 123.81
2012-12-15 18:30	6.1 mww	88 km ESE of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea	52 km	-4.63, 153.02
2012-12-15 03:49	6.0 mww	83 km SE of Attu Station, Alaska	26 km	52.29, 174.01
2012-12-14 09:36	6.3 mww	279 km SSW of Avalon, California	13 km	31.10, -119.66
2012-12-11 05:18	6.0 mww	Molucca Sea	30 km	0.53, 126.23
2012-12-10 15:53	7.1 mww	Banda Sea	155 km	-6.53, 129.82

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 24, 2026 · SHA-256 10108b8ff56e…
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…

Earthquakes USGS catalogue M ≥ 4.5 since 1900, historical NCEI earthquakes

A year of strong earthquakes