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 · 10/27/26
Positions and magnitudes from the USGS catalogue; heights exaggerated. Base map: local NASA Blue Marble.
Catalogued earthquakes M ≥ 4.5
312,191
1900 → 2026-10-27
USGS ComCat earthquakes M ≥ 4.5 (FDSN event service) · U.S. Government work, public domain; cite USGS ANSS ComCat · 10/27/26
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 · 10/27/26
Current · provisional
Latest catalogued earthquake
M 4.6
2026-10-27 11:01 UTC · 5 km ENE of Tierra y Libertad, Mexico
USGS ComCat earthquakes M ≥ 4.5 (FDSN event service) · U.S. Government work, public domain; cite USGS ANSS ComCat · 10/27/26
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 · 10/27/26
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 · 10/27/26
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 · 10/27/26
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 · 10/27/26
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 · 10/27/26
| Date (UTC) | M | Place | Depth | Lat., lon. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-01-03 15:34 | 6.1 mb | 232 km ESE of Tadine, New Caledonia | 10 km | -22.44, 169.92 |
| 2004-01-03 15:23 | 7.1 mwc | 202 km ESE of Tadine, New Caledonia | 22 km | -22.25, 169.68 |
| 2004-01-03 07:21 | 6.4 mwc | southeast of the Loyalty Islands | 10 km | -22.32, 169.62 |
| 2004-01-03 07:09 | 6.1 mwc | 185 km ESE of Tadine, New Caledonia | 10 km | -22.16, 169.55 |
| 2004-01-03 07:07 | 6.0 mwc | 211 km ESE of Tadine, New Caledonia | 10 km | -22.38, 169.73 |
| 2004-01-01 22:31 | 6.1 mwc | 6 km SW of Petatlán, Mexico | 29 km | 17.49, -101.30 |
| 2003-12-29 00:30 | 6.1 mwc | 64 km SSE of Kushiro, Japan | 33 km | 42.42, 144.61 |
| 2003-12-27 21:55 | 6.3 mwc | 195 km E of Tadine, New Caledonia | 10 km | -21.65, 169.77 |
| 2003-12-27 21:38 | 6.7 mwb | 202 km E of Tadine, New Caledonia | 10 km | -21.67, 169.84 |
| 2003-12-27 15:00 | 7.3 mwc | 201 km ESE of Tadine, New Caledonia | 10 km | -22.02, 169.77 |
| 2003-12-27 03:55 | 6.1 mwc | 164 km ESE of Tadine, New Caledonia | 10 km | -22.11, 169.35 |
| 2003-12-26 20:26 | 6.8 mwc | 168 km ESE of Tadine, New Caledonia | 10 km | -22.27, 169.31 |
| 2003-12-26 00:56 | 6.6 mwc | 13 km SSW of Bam, Iran | 10 km | 29.00, 58.31 |
| 2003-12-25 22:09 | 6.0 mwb | 190 km ESE of Tadine, New Caledonia | 10 km | -22.30, 169.53 |
| 2003-12-25 19:42 | 6.5 mwc | 183 km ESE of Tadine, New Caledonia | 10 km | -22.25, 169.49 |
| 2003-12-25 13:21 | 6.0 mwb | south of the Kermadec Islands | 35 km | -34.95, -178.25 |
| 2003-12-25 06:11 | 6.5 mwb | 3 km SSE of Progreso, Panama | 33 km | 8.42, -82.82 |
| 2003-12-22 18:15 | 6.5 mw | 10 km NE of San Simeon, California | 8 km | 35.70, -121.10 |
| 2003-12-21 06:40 | 6.6 mwc | central Mid-Atlantic Ridge | 10 km | -0.77, -20.60 |
| 2003-12-10 03:38 | 6.8 mwb | 92 km E of Yujing, Taiwan | 10 km | 23.04, 121.36 |
| 2003-12-09 11:44 | 6.2 mwc | 192 km WSW of Adak, Alaska | 33 km | 51.33, -179.27 |
| 2003-12-05 20:26 | 6.7 mwb | 220 km ESE of Ust’-Kamchatsk Staryy, Russia | 10 km | 55.54, 165.78 |
| 2003-12-01 00:38 | 6.0 mwc | 106 km E of Kegen, Kazakhstan | 10 km | 42.90, 80.52 |
| 2003-11-25 19:19 | 6.6 mwb | 82 km E of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea | 35 km | -5.58, 150.88 |
| 2003-11-18 16:14 | 6.5 mwb | 4 km NW of Can-Avid, Philippines | 35 km | 12.02, 125.42 |
| 2003-11-17 05:43 | 7.8 mwc | Rat Islands, Aleutian Islands, Alaska | 33 km | 51.15, 178.65 |
| 2003-11-14 03:28 | 6.1 mwc | Vanuatu region | 10 km | -16.74, 172.33 |
| 2003-11-13 01:49 | 6.0 mwb | west of Macquarie Island | 10 km | -54.21, 143.82 |
| 2003-11-12 07:26 | 6.4 mwb | 118 km ESE of Shing?, Japan | 385 km | 33.17, 137.07 |
| 2003-11-11 23:29 | 6.2 mwc | 134 km NW of Ternate, Indonesia | 33 km | 1.59, 126.48 |
| 2003-11-11 17:48 | 6.0 mwb | Volcano Islands, Japan region | 101 km | 22.32, 143.25 |
| 2003-11-11 14:39 | 6.1 mwc | Kermadec Islands region | 33 km | -30.66, -179.38 |
| 2003-11-11 12:44 | 6.1 mwb | Kermadec Islands region | 33 km | -30.62, -179.01 |
| 2003-11-09 18:52 | 6.6 mwc | central Mid-Atlantic Ridge | 10 km | -0.67, -19.69 |
| 2003-11-06 09:38 | 6.6 mwb | 51 km NW of Isangel, Vanuatu | 114 km | -19.26, 168.89 |
| 2003-11-04 23:58 | 6.0 mwb | 44 km W of Pizarro, Colombia | 33 km | 4.97, -77.77 |
| 2003-11-02 04:32 | 6.4 mwb | 96 km WNW of Te Anau, New Zealand | 10 km | -45.19, 166.54 |
| 2003-10-31 00:06 | 7.0 mwb | 133 km ESE of Ishinomaki, Japan | 10 km | 37.81, 142.62 |
| 2003-10-28 01:33 | 6.0 mwc | 141 km SW of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea | 65 km | -5.38, 151.51 |
| 2003-10-22 09:45 | 6.3 mwb | 56 km NNW of Finschhafen, Papua New Guinea | 54 km | -6.06, 147.73 |
| 2003-10-18 20:27 | 6.4 mwc | 147 km WSW of Ternate, Indonesia | 33 km | 0.44, 126.10 |
| 2003-10-17 08:19 | 6.4 mwb | 174 km WNW of Panguna, Papua New Guinea | 133 km | -5.47, 154.16 |
| 2003-10-15 00:19 | 6.0 mwb | 211 km E of Levuka, Fiji | 583 km | -17.82, -178.70 |
| 2003-10-13 07:52 | 6.0 mwc | 183 km S of Alo, Wallis and Futuna | 10 km | -15.94, -178.43 |
| 2003-10-09 20:19 | 6.2 mwb | 18 km WSW of Tagbak, Philippines | 33 km | 13.76, 119.94 |
| 2003-10-08 07:06 | 6.7 mwc | 39 km SSE of Kushiro, Japan | 32 km | 42.65, 144.57 |
| 2003-10-07 02:55 | 6.2 mwb | 246 km SSE of Vaitogi, American Samoa | 10 km | -16.53, -170.19 |
| 2003-09-30 23:03 | 6.7 mwb | 9 km S of Aktash, Russia | 10 km | 50.21, 87.72 |
| 2003-09-30 13:22 | 6.0 mwc | Kermadec Islands, New Zealand | 33 km | -30.49, -177.18 |
| 2003-09-30 12:08 | 6.4 mwb | Kermadec Islands, New Zealand | 10 km | -30.44, -177.40 |
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 27, 2026 · SHA-256 2a082d988a24… - 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…