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.
2011-03-13 00:26	6.1 mww	72 km E of Hasaki, Japan	8 km	35.72, 141.64
2011-03-12 22:24	6.1 mwb	55 km SE of Ishinomaki, Japan	15 km	38.05, 141.72
2011-03-12 12:15	6.1 mww	29 km SSE of Namie, Japan	38 km	37.25, 141.16
2011-03-12 00:47	6.5 mww	146 km E of Namie, Japan	20 km	37.59, 142.65
2011-03-11 19:11	6.1 mwc	72 km ESE of Kamaishi, Japan	17 km	39.00, 142.63
2011-03-11 18:46	6.2 mwc	88 km WNW of Noshiro, Japan	10 km	40.48, 139.06
2011-03-11 18:02	6.0 mwb	80 km E of Yamada, Japan	27 km	39.34, 142.87
2011-03-11 17:59	6.2 mwb	13 km E of Arai, Japan	9 km	37.01, 138.38
2011-03-11 14:20	6.0 mb	108 km ESE of Takahagi, Japan	53 km	36.40, 141.86
2011-03-11 14:13	6.3 mwb	92 km ENE of Hasaki, Japan	21 km	35.99, 141.81
2011-03-11 10:36	6.6 ms	50 km ESE of ?tsuchi, Japan	26 km	39.24, 142.46
2011-03-11 09:10	6.0 mb	76 km ESE of Yamada, Japan	27 km	39.18, 142.76
2011-03-11 07:33	6.0 mb	94 km ESE of Yamada, Japan	28 km	39.14, 142.97
2011-03-11 07:31	6.0 mb	15 km E of Namie, Japan	37 km	37.47, 141.18
2011-03-11 07:27	6.0 mb	126 km ESE of Ishinomaki, Japan	43 km	38.02, 142.66
2011-03-11 07:26	6.1 mb	178 km E of Namie, Japan	17 km	37.37, 143.02
2011-03-11 07:19	6.5 mb	81 km NE of Hasaki, Japan	7 km	36.17, 141.56
2011-03-11 07:15	6.1 mb	off the east coast of Honshu, Japan	41 km	37.05, 144.54
2011-03-11 07:12	6.2 mb	70 km ESE of Kitaibaraki, Japan	40 km	36.57, 141.49
2011-03-11 06:30	6.0 mb	17 km ESE of Namie, Japan	49 km	37.44, 141.20
2011-03-11 06:29	6.3 mb	49 km ESE of Kamaishi, Japan	45 km	39.03, 142.35
2011-03-11 06:28	6.1 mb	87 km ESE of Iwaki, Japan	28 km	36.82, 141.82
2011-03-11 06:25	6.1 mb	275 km ESE of Kamaishi, Japan	40 km	37.93, 144.53
2011-03-11 06:14	6.3 mb	near the east coast of Honshu, Japan	25 km	36.59, 141.82
2011-03-11 05:59	6.3 mb	off the east coast of Honshu, Japan	36 km	37.36, 144.72
2011-03-11 05:57	6.0 mb	4 km ESE of Hasaki, Japan	48 km	35.71, 140.88
2011-03-11 05:49	6.1 mb	284 km ESE of Ishinomaki, Japan	47 km	37.34, 144.24
2011-03-11 05:48	6.2 mb	134 km ESE of Ishinomaki, Japan	12 km	37.96, 142.72
2011-03-11 05:29	6.1 mb	260 km ESE of ?funato, Japan	41 km	37.81, 144.23
2011-03-11 05:25	7.7 mwc	272 km ESE of Kamaishi, Japan	19 km	38.06, 144.59
2011-03-11 05:23	6.2 mb	45 km SE of Kamaishi, Japan	56 km	39.03, 142.28
2011-03-11 05:21	6.2 mb	128 km SE of ?funato, Japan	52 km	38.29, 142.81
2011-03-11 05:20	6.5 mb	115 km ENE of Hasaki, Japan	49 km	36.00, 142.07
2011-03-11 05:18	6.6 mb	133 km ENE of Hasaki, Japan	16 km	36.02, 142.27
2011-03-11 05:15	7.9 mwc	47 km E of ?arai, Japan	43 km	36.28, 141.11
2011-03-11 05:15	6.3 mb	221 km SE of ?funato, Japan	35 km	37.93, 143.80
2011-03-11 05:13	6.2 mb	61 km ESE of Namie, Japan	40 km	37.21, 141.60
2011-03-11 05:12	6.2 mb	261 km ESE of ?funato, Japan	25 km	37.79, 144.23
2011-03-11 05:08	6.7 mb	134 km ESE of Kamaishi, Japan	3 km	38.97, 143.37
2011-03-11 05:07	6.4 mb	108 km ESE of Kitaibaraki, Japan	32 km	36.42, 141.88
2011-03-11 05:06	6.3 mb	47 km SE of Kamaishi, Japan	43 km	39.00, 142.29
2011-03-11 05:00	6.2 mb	110 km ESE of Ishinomaki, Japan	41 km	38.10, 142.49
2011-03-11 04:58	6.3 mb	103 km E of Namie, Japan	51 km	37.62, 142.16
2011-03-11 04:55	6.4 mb	208 km E of Namie, Japan	35 km	37.36, 143.35
2011-03-11 04:54	6.3 mb	30 km NNE of Namie, Japan	32 km	37.71, 141.18
2011-03-11 04:46	9.1 mww	2011 Great Tohoku Earthquake, Japan	29 km	38.30, 142.37
2011-03-10 16:08	6.5 mww	178 km NNE of Gili Air, Indonesia	511 km	-6.87, 116.72
2011-03-09 20:24	6.4 mww	35 km NE of Kandrian, Papua New Guinea	29 km	-5.98, 149.78
2011-03-09 20:24	6.5 mwc	128 km SE of ?funato, Japan	15 km	38.30, 142.81
2011-03-09 20:22	6.0 mwc	114 km SE of ?funato, Japan	23 km	38.34, 142.65

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