Quakewire
← All earthquakes
5.0MAG

MODERATE EARTHQUAKE

South Atlantic Ocean

USGS

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck South Atlantic Ocean on 17 Sept 2026, 06:48 UTC. The hypocentre was 10 km below the surface — shallow by seismological convention. No felt reports have been received so far.

Depth
10 km

shallow

Latitude
22.59°S

20.35°W longitude

Time
06:48 UTC

17 Sept 2026

Magnitude
M5.0

mb

EPICENTRE

View the official report

MAGNITUDE 5.0

Can damage poorly constructed buildings; well-built structures usually escape with little harm.

The scale is logarithmic: this released about 32 times the energy of a magnitude 4.0, roughly the energy of 477 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.

OTHER RECENT EARTHQUAKES

M5.0 earthquake — South Atlantic Ocean · Quakewire