MODERATE EARTHQUAKE
South Sandwich Islands region
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck South Sandwich Islands region on 21 Aug 2026, 13:06 UTC. The hypocentre was 152 km below the surface — intermediate by seismological convention. No felt reports have been received so far. 5 other earthquakes above our reporting threshold have been recorded within 250 km in the past 30 days.
- Depth
- 152 km
- Latitude
- 58.84°S
- Time
- 13:06 UTC
- Magnitude
- M5.4
intermediate
26.55°W longitude
21 Aug 2026
mb
EPICENTRE
MAGNITUDE 5.4
Can damage poorly constructed buildings; well-built structures usually escape with little harm.
The scale is logarithmic: this released about 130 times the energy of a magnitude 4.0, roughly the energy of 2 thousand tonnes of TNT.
152 KM DEEP
At this depth the energy spreads before it reaches the surface. Shaking is usually weaker than a shallow earthquake of the same size, but it can be felt across a wider area.
NEARBY IN THE PAST 30 DAYS
5 earthquakes above our reporting threshold within 250 km of this one, the largest a magnitude 5.1.
OTHER RECENT EARTHQUAKES
18 Sept 2026, 02:12 UTC · 36.3 km deep
18 Sept 2026, 01:29 UTC · 106 km deep
18 Sept 2026, 01:07 UTC · 53.9 km deep
17 Sept 2026, 22:11 UTC · 82.7 km deep