M6.2 earthquake – South Sandwich Islands region
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck in the South Sandwich Islands region at 23:46 UTC on 2 Sept 2026, at a depth of 111 km, according to USGS.
2 reports to USGS “Did You Feel It?”
Data: USGS · updated 2026-09-18 04:34 UTC · reviewed
- Magnitude
- 6.2strong
moment magnitude (W phase) (mww) - Depth
- 111 km
- Status
- Reviewed
- Origin time
- 2026-09-02 23:46:56 UTC
- Epicentre
- 56.073° S, 27.851° W
Circles show this event and others within 159 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. Likely felt out to about 452 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.
| Agency | Magnitude | Depth | Epicentre | Time offset | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USGSheadlineUSGS NEIC via U.S. Geological Survey | 6.2 mww | 111 km | 56.07° S, 27.85° W | – | Reviewed |
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How big was it?
Can cause damage over tens of kilometres, depending on depth, local ground and how buildings are built.
It released roughly the energy of 30 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 111 km this was a intermediate-depth earthquake, which spreads shaking over a wider area but less intensely.
M6.2 releases about 32× the energy of M5.2, and its waves are about 10× taller on a seismogram. Energy: 30 kt of TNT vs 951 t of TNT.
Each square is the energy of one M5.2. Energy from log₁₀E = 1.5M + 4.8.
Aftershocks and nearby activity
6 later earthquakes within 159 km; the largest was M5.0 24 days ago. 3 in the 7 days before. Aftershock rates usually fall off roughly in proportion to 1/time.
Mainshock M6.2
6 later earthquakes nearby. Aftershock rates typically fall off roughly as 1/time (Omori's law).
| Time after mainshock (hours) | Magnitude | Depth (km) |
|---|---|---|
| 4.95 | 4.5 | 14 |
| 5.39 | 4.5 | 10 |
| 30.98 | 5.0 | 10 |
| 80.15 | 4.5 | 10 |
| 227.31 | 4.9 | 102 |
| 394.22 | 5.0 | 78 |
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.
Event id us7000tdrv. First recorded here 28 Sept 2026, 17:32:13 UTC. Solutions: USGS (usgs:us7000tdrv). Cite as: SeismoAtlas, “M6.2 earthquake – South Sandwich Islands region”, https://seismoatlas.com/earthquake/us7000tdrv-m6-2-earthquake-south-sandwich-islands-region, data from USGS.
JSON: /api/v1/events/us7000tdrv. SeismoAtlas is not an official warning service.