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5.3MAG

MODERATE EARTHQUAKE

116 km WNW of Höfn, Iceland

USGS

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 116 km WNW of Höfn, Iceland on 19 Oct 2026, 14:44 UTC. The hypocentre was 10 km below the surface — shallow by seismological convention. No felt reports have been received so far. 1 other earthquake above our reporting threshold has been recorded within 250 km in the past 30 days.

Depth
10 km

shallow

Latitude
64.58°N

17.51°W longitude

Time
14:44 UTC

19 Oct 2026

Magnitude
M5.3

mww

EPICENTRE

View the official report↗

MAGNITUDE 5.3

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

The scale is logarithmic: this released about 89 times the energy of a magnitude 4.0, roughly the energy of 1 thousand 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 4.7.

OTHER RECENT EARTHQUAKES

M5.3 earthquake — Höfn, Iceland · Quakewire