A magnitude 3.4 earthquake near Masaya, Departamento de Masaya, Nicaragua, was reported only 15 minutes ago by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), considered one of the key international agencies that monitor seismic activity worldwide. The earthquake occurred at a very shallow depth of 6. km beneath the epicenter early evening on Wednesday, March 18th, 2026, at 7:47 pm local time. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibration in the area of the epicenter. Weak shaking might have been felt in Masaya (pop. 130,100) located 4 km from the epicenter, Masatepe (pop. 21,500) 6 km away, and San Marcos (pop. 23,300) 11 km away.Other towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Jinotepe (pop. 29,500) located 16 km from the epicenter, Diriamba (pop. 35,000) 17 km away, Granada (pop. 89,400) 20 km away, Managua (pop. 973,100) 22 km away, Tipitapa (pop. 50,000) 26 km away, and Ciudad Sandino (pop. 50,000) 31 km away.Earthquake data: Date & time: Mar 18, 2026 07:47 pm (GMT -6) local time (19 Mar 2026 01:47 GMT)Magnitude: 3.4Depth: 6.00 kmEpicenter latitude / longitude: 11.97°N / 86.13°W (Departamento de Masaya, Nicaragua)Primary data source: EMSC