MODERATE EARTHQUAKE
172 km ESE of Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 172 km ESE of Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands on 16 Sept 2026, 08:37 UTC. The hypocentre was 10 km below the surface — shallow by seismological convention. No felt reports have been received so far. The figures have been revised 2 times since the first report. 1 other earthquake above our reporting threshold has been recorded within 250 km in the past 30 days.
- Depth
- 10 km
- Latitude
- 14.39°N
- Time
- 08:37 UTC
- Magnitude
- M5.1
shallow
147.11°E longitude
16 Sept 2026
mb
EPICENTRE
MAGNITUDE 5.1
Can damage poorly constructed buildings; well-built structures usually escape with little harm.
The scale is logarithmic: this released about 45 times the energy of a magnitude 4.0, roughly the energy of 674 tonnes of TNT.
10 KM DEEP
Shallow earthquakes release their energy close to the surface, so they are felt more strongly, and do more damage, than deeper earthquakes of the same magnitude.
NEARBY IN THE PAST 30 DAYS
1 earthquake above our reporting threshold within 250 km of this one, the largest a magnitude 5.1.
OTHER RECENT EARTHQUAKES
17 Sept 2026, 06:48 UTC · 10 km deep
17 Sept 2026, 06:42 UTC · 10 km deep
17 Sept 2026, 06:32 UTC · 36.7 km deep
17 Sept 2026, 06:20 UTC · 24 km deep