M5.8 Earthquake north of Svalbard — May 21, 2022
2022-05-21 07:01:22 UTC (2022-05-21) · approx. 7:01 AM UTC+0 local
0
On May 21, 2022 at 07:01 UTC, a magnitude 5.8 shallow crustal earthquake struck north of Svalbard, at a depth of 10.0 km and coordinates 84.2375°, 0.5850°. The USGS PAGER system issued a green alert level for this event, indicating no significant casualties or damage expected. This earthquake was detected by 106 seismic stations with excellent location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 518, placing it among routine seismic activity.
Physical scale: An earthquake of magnitude 5.8 releases seismic energy equivalent to roughly 8 kilotons of TNT. Empirical fault-scaling laws (Wells & Coppersmith, 1994) estimate the subsurface rupture length at approximately 6.1 km — a useful intuition for the size of the slip patch on the fault.
ShakeMap — predicted shaking intensity
Modeled ground-motion intensity contoured on the Modified Mercalli scale (MMI). Computed by the USGS from the moment-tensor solution and regional ground-motion prediction equations.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey ShakeMap. View interactive ShakeMap on USGS
Earthquake Details
0.5850°E
Technical Information
Common Questions
How strong was the magnitude 5.8 earthquake north of Svalbard?
The magnitude 5.8 earthquake that struck north of Svalbard on May 21, 2022 at 07:01 UTC had a depth of 10.0 km. For context, this was a moderate earthquake that could be widely felt.
Where did the earthquake occur?
The earthquake epicenter was located at 84.2375°, 0.5850°, which is north of Svalbard.
Were there aftershocks?
Aftershock activity is monitored continuously by the USGS. Aftershock sequences from magnitude 5.8 earthquakes can continue for days to weeks and gradually diminish over time.
Actions
Authoritative source: USGS event page (event ID: us6000hmv1). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.
Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2022, May 21, 2022). M5.8 Earthquake north of Svalbard — May 21, 2022. Retrieved July 17, 2025 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us6000hmv1/