M5.3 earthquake 51 km WSW of Aimogasta, La Rioja, Argentina
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 51 km WSW of Aimogasta, La Rioja, Argentina at 06:21 local time (09:21 UTC) on 23 Sept 2026, at a depth of 122 km, according to USGS and GFZ.
Reported by 2 agencies · 4 reports to USGS “Did You Feel It?”
Data: USGS, GFZ · updated 2026-09-23 15:54 UTC · reviewed
- Magnitude
- 5.3moderate
moment magnitude (W phase) (mww) - Depth
- 121.5 km
- Status
- Reviewed
- Origin time
- 2026-09-23 09:21:14 UTC
- Local: 23 Sept 2026, 06:21:14 (America/Argentina/La Rioja)
- Epicentre
- 28.730° S, 67.291° W
Circles show this event and others within 56 km from 7 days before to 30 days after. Lines: plate boundaries and GEM active faults. Open on the live map
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Est. shaking |
|---|---|---|
| AimogastaLa Rioja, Argentina · pop. 16,625 | 51 km | IIIWeak |
| AraucoLa Rioja, Argentina · pop. 13,720 | 52 km | IIIWeak |
| ChilecitoLa Rioja, Argentina · pop. 42,248 | 52 km | IIIWeak |
| La RiojaArgentina · pop. 178,872 | 86 km | IIIWeak |
| CatamarcaArgentina · pop. 159,139 | 149 km | IIWeak |
| San Miguel de TucumánTucuman, Argentina · pop. 548,866 | 295 km | IIWeak |
| Santiago del EsteroArgentina · pop. 252,192 | 314 km | IIWeak |
Shaking is an estimate from the intensity prediction equation of Allen, Wald & Worden (2012), not an observation. Local ground and buildings can change it by a level or more. Likely felt out to about 128 km.
Every agency's solution
Agencies locate earthquakes with their own stations and methods, so their numbers differ. We match reports of the same event by time, distance and magnitude and show them side by side. The headline uses USGS, which has been reviewed by an analyst.
How big was it?
Felt by most people over a wide area. Can damage poorly built structures close to the epicentre.
It released roughly the energy of 1.3 kt of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step means about 32 times more energy and 10 times larger waves on a seismogram. Depth matters too: at 122 km this was a intermediate-depth earthquake, which spreads shaking over a wider area but less intensely.
M5.3 releases about 32× the energy of M4.3, and its waves are about 10× taller on a seismogram. Energy: 1.3 kt of TNT vs 43 t of TNT.
Each square is the energy of one M4.3. Energy from log₁₀E = 1.5M + 4.8.
Aftershocks and nearby activity
No later earthquakes have been recorded within 56 km so far. Aftershock rates usually fall off roughly in proportion to 1/time.
Did you feel it?
Reports from people help show where shaking was strong. They are anonymous and shown here in aggregate.
Event id gfz2026sqwv. First recorded here 28 Sept 2026, 17:32:06 UTC. Solutions: GFZ (geofon:gfz2026sqwv); USGS (usgs:us6000tx29). Cite as: SeismoAtlas, “M5.3 earthquake 51 km WSW of Aimogasta, La Rioja, Argentina”, https://seismoatlas.com/earthquake/gfz2026sqwv-m5-3-earthquake-51-km-wsw-of-aimogasta-la-rioja-argentina, data from USGS, GFZ.
JSON: /api/v1/events/gfz2026sqwv. SeismoAtlas is not an official warning service.