A shallow magnitude 3.5 earthquake was reported early evening near Granada, Departamento de Granada, Nicaragua.According to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), the quake hit on Wednesday, March 18th, 2026, at 7:55 pm local time at a shallow depth of 10. km. Shallow earthquakes are felt more strongly than deeper ones as they are closer to the surface. 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 Nandaime (pop. 20,800) located 4 km from the epicenter.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, Masatepe (pop. 21,500) 16 km away, Granada (pop. 89,400) 20 km away, San Marcos (pop. 23,300) 20 km away, Diriamba (pop. 35,000) 20 km away, Masaya (pop. 130,100) 21 km away, Managua (pop. 973,100) 43 km away, and Tipitapa (pop. 50,000) 46 km away.Earthquake data: Date & time: Mar 18, 2026 07:55 pm (GMT -6) local time (19 Mar 2026 01:55 GMT)Magnitude: 3.5Depth: 10.00 kmEpicenter latitude / longitude: 11.79°N / 86.06°W (Departamento de Granada, Nicaragua)Primary data source: EMSC