5.4

M5.4 Earthquake north of Svalbard — September 28, 2026

2026-09-28 13:22:39 UTC (1 hour ago) · approx. 1:22 PM UTC+0 local

MagnitudeM5.4(mww)
Time13:22 UTC≈ 1:22 PM UTC+0
Depth10.0 kmshallow crustal
Coordinates82.638°, -7.192°
Felt byNo felt reports
Status✓ Reviewed by USGS· green PAGER
green Alert— no significant casualties or damage expected

On September 28, 2026 at 13:22 UTC, a magnitude 5.4 shallow crustal earthquake struck north of Svalbard, at a depth of 10.0 km and coordinates 82.6385°, -7.1923°. The USGS PAGER system issued a green alert level for this event, indicating no significant casualties or damage expected. This earthquake was detected by 81 seismic stations with excellent location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 449, placing it among routine seismic activity.

Physical scale: An earthquake of magnitude 5.4 releases seismic energy equivalent to roughly 2 kilotons of TNT. Empirical fault-scaling laws (Wells & Coppersmith, 1994) estimate the subsurface rupture length at approximately 3.2 km — a useful intuition for the size of the slip patch on the fault.

Map showing earthquake epicenter at 82.64°, -7.19°

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.

USGS ShakeMap intensity contours for the M5.4 earthquake near north of Svalbard

Source: U.S. Geological Survey ShakeMap. View interactive ShakeMap on USGS

Earthquake Details

Magnitude
5.4 mww
Depth
10.0 km
shallow crustal
Location
82.6385°N
-7.1923°E
Intensity (MMI)
3.4
light

Technical Information

Event ID
us6000ty57
Event Type
earthquake
Status
✓ Reviewed
Significance
449
Stations Used
81
Azimuthal Gap
60.0°
Min Station Distance
1.667°
RMS Residual
0.56 sec
Last Updated
2026-09-28 13:50:01 UTC

Common Questions

How strong was the magnitude 5.4 earthquake north of Svalbard?

The magnitude 5.4 earthquake that struck north of Svalbard on September 28, 2026 at 13:22 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 82.6385°, -7.1923°, which is north of Svalbard.

Were there aftershocks?

Aftershock activity is monitored continuously by the USGS. Aftershock sequences from magnitude 5.4 earthquakes can continue for days to weeks and gradually diminish over time.

Authoritative source: USGS event page (event ID: us6000ty57). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.

Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2026, September 28, 2026). M5.4 Earthquake north of Svalbard — September 28, 2026. Retrieved September 28, 2026 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us6000ty57/