M5.0 earthquake – South Sandwich Islands region
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck in the South Sandwich Islands region at 03:55 UTC on 30 Aug 2026, at a depth of 142 km, according to USGS.
Data: USGS · updated 2026-09-18 02:47 UTC · reviewed
- Magnitude
- 5.0moderate
body-wave magnitude (mb) - Depth
- 142 km
- Status
- Reviewed
- Origin time
- 2026-08-30 03:55:29 UTC
- Epicentre
- 56.481° S, 27.078° W
Circles show this event and others within 40 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 |
|---|---|---|
| No towns within 400 km. This is a remote area. | ||
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.
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.
| Agency | Magnitude | Depth | Epicentre | Time offset | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USGSheadlineUSGS NEIC via U.S. Geological Survey | 5.0 mb | 142 km | 56.48° S, 27.08° W | – | Reviewed |
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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 477 t 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 142 km this was a intermediate-depth earthquake, which spreads shaking over a wider area but less intensely.
M5.0 releases about 32× the energy of M4.0, and its waves are about 10× taller on a seismogram. Energy: 477 t of TNT vs 15 t of TNT.
Each square is the energy of one M4.0. Energy from log₁₀E = 1.5M + 4.8.
Aftershocks and nearby activity
2 later earthquakes within 40 km; the largest was M5.3 26 days ago. Aftershock rates usually fall off roughly in proportion to 1/time.
Mainshock M5.0
2 later earthquakes nearby. Aftershock rates typically fall off roughly as 1/time (Omori's law).
| Time after mainshock (hours) | Magnitude | Depth (km) |
|---|---|---|
| 78.98 | 5.3 | 99 |
| 319.17 | 4.9 | 102 |
Did you feel it?
Reports from people help show where shaking was strong. They are anonymous and shown here in aggregate.
Reports close 14 days after an earthquake.
Reports on SeismoAtlas
No reports yet.
Event id us7000tcwd. First recorded here 28 Sept 2026, 17:32:14 UTC. Solutions: USGS (usgs:us7000tcwd). Cite as: SeismoAtlas, “M5.0 earthquake – South Sandwich Islands region”, https://seismoatlas.com/earthquake/us7000tcwd-m5-0-earthquake-south-sandwich-islands-region, data from USGS.
JSON: /api/v1/events/us7000tcwd. SeismoAtlas is not an official warning service.