Moderate magnitude 4.5 earthquake at 26 km depth2 Jan 01:35 UTC: First to report: INETER after 4 minutes.I didn't feel itI felt this quakeEarthquake detailsDate & timeJan 2, 2026 01:30:38 UTC - Local time at epicenter2026-01-01 19:30:38Statuspreliminary (automatic detection)Magnitude4.5Depth26 kmEpicenter latitude / longitude11.361°N / 86.883°WNicaraguaSeismic antipode11.361°S / 93.117°EShaking intensityIV Light shaking near epicenterFelt0 reportsPrimary data sourceINETERNearest volcanoNejapa-Miraflores (104 km / 65 mi)Estimated seismic energy released3.5 x 1011 joules (98.6 megawatt hours, equivalent to 84.8 tons of TNT) | equivalent to ONE quake of magnitude 4.5 | about seismic energy5 minutes agoJan 2, 2026 01:30 GMT / 2026-01-01 19:30:38Lat / Lng: 11.361 / -86.883: 61 km Al Suroeste De Pochomil, NicaraguaSource: INETERDetail info | You felt it? - Report it!';storedMarkers.push(['quake-22565039',11.36100,-86.88300,'5 minutes ago: Mag. 4.5, 61 km Al Suroeste De Pochomil, Nicaragua',html,'quakes-6-24.png',25,25,12,12,125]); function mkRep(id,notFelt){var nFelt=notFelt||false;var src="https://www.volcanoesandearthquakes.com/app/earthquake-report.php?quakeId="+id;if(nFelt==true){src+="¬Felt=true";}window.open(src,"","status=0,toolbar=0,location=0,directories=0,menubar=0,resizable=1,scrollbars=1,height=400,width=350");} function locationHashChanged(e){-1!=e.oldURL.indexOf("#popupMap")&&closePopup()} window.onhashchange = locationHashChanged; function comment(e){var t=e.parentNode,a=(t.dataset.id,document.getElementById("commentForm"));"none"==a.style.display?(t.appendChild(a),a.style.display="block"):a.style.display="none"}function sendComment(e){var t=e.parentNode,a=t.parentNode.dataset.id,n=document.getElementById("commentContent"),p=n.value.trim();if(p){var o="id="+a+"&quakeId="+thisQuakeId;o+="&comment="+decodeURIComponent(p),mkRequest("//reports.volcanodiscovery.com/app/eqReportComment.php","post",o,function(e){e.responseText;alert("Thank you for submitting your comment!"),t.style.display="none",n.value=""})}}function flagReport(e){var t=e.parentNode.dataset.id;if(confirm("Report this as inappropriate?")){var a="id="+t+"&quakeId="+thisQuakeId+"&flagAsInappropriate=1";mkRequest("//reports.volcanodiscovery.com/app/eqReportComment.php","post",a,function(t){var a=t.responseText;alert(a),e.style.display="none"})}}function likeReport(e){var t="id="+e.parentNode.dataset.id+"&quakeId="+thisQuakeId+"&like=1";mkRequest("//reports.volcanodiscovery.com/app/eqReportComment.php","post",t,function(t){t.responseText;e.style.opacity=.5})}]]>[smaller] [bigger]Most recent quakes Top 20 past 24 hrs Quakes in NicaraguaNearby placesThe closest larger town where the quake might have been felt is Diriamba, a town with 35,000 inhabitants in Nicaragua, in 89 km (56 mi) distance northeast of the epicenter. People likely experienced weak shaking there. Several smaller towns and villages are located closer to the epicenter and might have experienced stronger shaking. In the capital of Nicaragua, Managua, 110 km (68 mi) away from the epicenter, the earthquake was probably felt as weak shaking.The following table shows some of the places that might have been affected (or not) by the shaking.DistancePlaceMax. shaking intensity(*)RegionCountry62 km (39 mi)NE of epicenterMasachapa(pop: 5,000)III: WeakDepartamento de ManaguaNicaragua72 km (45 mi)NE of epicenterEl Rosario(pop: 2,990)III: WeakDepartamento de CarazoNicaragua73 km (45 mi)NE of epicenterSan Rafael del Sur(pop: 29,800)III: WeakDepartamento de ManaguaNicaragua80 km (50 mi)NE of epicenterVilla El Carmen(pop: 5,220)III: WeakDepartamento de ManaguaNicaragua84 km (52 mi)NE of epicenterSanta Teresa(pop: 5,790)III: WeakDepartamento de CarazoNicaragua89 km (56 mi)NE of epicenterDiriamba(pop: 35,000)III: WeakDepartamento de CarazoNicaragua92 km (57 mi)NE of epicenterJinotepe(pop: 29,500)III: WeakDepartamento de CarazoNicaragua94 km (58 mi)NE of epicenterEl Crucero(pop: 16,500)III: WeakDepartamento de ManaguaNicaragua96 km (60 mi)NE of epicenterSan Marcos(pop: 23,300)III: WeakDepartamento de CarazoNicaragua101 km (63 mi)NE of epicenterNandaime(pop: 20,800)III: WeakDepartamento de GranadaNicaragua101 km (63 mi)NE of epicenterMasatepe(pop: 21,500)III: WeakDepartamento de MasayaNicaragua103 km (64 mi)E of epicenterTola(pop: 2,640)III: WeakDepartamento de RivasNicaragua104 km (65 mi)NE of epicenterTicuantepe(pop: 13,200)III: WeakDepartamento de ManaguaNicaragua106 km (66 mi)NE of epicenterCiudad Sandino(pop: 50,000)III: WeakDepartamento de ManaguaNicaragua106 km (66 mi)N of epicenterNagarote(pop: 26,300)III: WeakDepartamento de LeonNicaragua107 km (67 mi)NE of epicenterDiriomo(pop: 10,100)III: WeakDepartamento de GranadaNicaragua109 km (68 mi)NE of epicenterMateare(pop: 61,200)III: WeakDepartamento de ManaguaNicaragua109 km (68 mi)NE of epicenterMasaya(pop: 130,100)III: WeakDepartamento de MasayaNicaragua110 km (68 mi)NE of epicenterManagua(pop: 973,100)III: WeakDepartamento de ManaguaNicaragua111 km (69 mi)E of epicenterSan Juan del Sur(pop: 7,790)II: Very weakDepartamento de RivasNicaragua111 km (69 mi)N of epicenterLa Paz Centro(pop: 23,500)II: Very weakDepartamento de LeonNicaragua115 km (72 mi)E of epicenterRivas(pop: 30,000)II: Very weakDepartamento de RivasNicaragua119 km (74 mi)NE of epicenterGranada(pop: 89,400)II: Very weakDepartamento de GranadaNicaragua119 km (74 mi)N of epicenterLeon(pop: 144,500)II: Very weakDepartamento de LeonNicaragua124 km (77 mi)NE of epicenterTisma(pop: 5,180)II: Very weakDepartamento de MasayaNicaragua126 km (79 mi)NE of epicenterTipitapa(pop: 50,000)II: Very weakDepartamento de ManaguaNicaragua129 km (80 mi)N of epicenterCorinto(pop: 19,200)II: Very weakDepartamento de ChinandegaNicaragua131 km (81 mi)E of epicenterMoyogalpa(pop: 3,940)II: Very weakDepartamento de RivasNicaragua136 km (85 mi)N of epicenterChichigalpa(pop: 33,100)II: Very weakDepartamento de ChinandegaNicaragua144 km (89 mi)N of epicenterChinandega(pop: 126,400)II: Very weakDepartamento de ChinandegaNicaragua148 km (92 mi)N of epicenterEl Viejo(pop: 53,500)II: Very weakDepartamento de ChinandegaNicaragua150 km (93 mi)N of epicenterLarreynaga(pop: 7,700)II: Very weakDepartamento de LeonNicaragua166 km (103 mi)N of epicenterJiquilillo(pop: 4,140)II: Very weakDepartamento de ChinandegaNicaragua167 km (104 mi)NE of epicenterTeustepe(pop: 4,290)II: Very weakDepartamento de BoacoNicaragua173 km (108 mi)NE of epicenterCiudad Dario(pop: 13,300)II: Very weakDepartamento de MatagalpaNicaragua174 km (108 mi)NE of epicenterSan Lorenzo(pop: 8,690)II: Very weakDepartamento de BoacoNicaragua177 km (110 mi)SE of epicenterLiberia(pop: 45,400)II: Very weakProvincia de GuanacasteCosta Rica182 km (113 mi)NE of epicenterBoaco(pop: 29,000)II: Very weakDepartamento de BoacoNicaragua188 km (117 mi)NE of epicenterCamoapa(pop: 16,700)II: Very weakDepartamento de BoacoNicaragua206 km (128 mi)SE of epicenterNicoya(pop: 15,300)II: Very weakProvincia de GuanacasteCosta RicaNotes:(*) Shaking intensity according to the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale (MMI) and estimated using seismic models.User-reports for this quakeThere are no user reports for this quake yet.If you felt it, be the first to report it!Compare Quake DataData for the same earthquake as reported by different agenciesThe more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision.MagDepthTime GMT2026-01-2EpicenterAgency4.526 km16 mi01:30:3861 Km al suroeste de Pochomil, NicaraguaINETERAftershocks for this quakeNo aftershocks have been recorded so far. When aftershocks are detected, we will update this section.What are aftershocks?Larger earthquakes (above magnitude 5 or so) such as this one are usually followed by smaller ones known as aftershocks that occur in the same area during the days, weeks, months or even years after the main shock.[More info]What about this quake?Based on its magnitude, the fault that was active during the quake likely ruptured beneath a surface area of approximately 3 km2 (1 square miles) as a first-order estimate. The length of the rupture zone thus was probably around 3 km (2 mi).[More info]Recorded aftershocks, latest first (0 quake)2026-01-01 19:30:385 minutes ago4.526 km0 km - This quake61 km Al Suroeste De Pochomil, NicaraguaMain Shock (this quake)MoreMap of aftershocksEarthquake statisticsAverage number of earthquakesBased on data from the past 26 years and our earthquake archive back to 1900, there are about 590 quakes on average per year in the area near the epicenter of this quake (within 100 km/61 mi):Mag. 7 or higher: 0.05 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 20.8 years)Mag. 6 or higher: 0.32 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 3.1 years)Mag. 5 or higher: 3.4 quakes per yearMag. 4 or higher: 65 quakes per year (or 5.4 quakes per month)Mag. 3 or higher: 333 quakes per year (or 27.7 quakes per month)Mag. 2 or higher: 582 quakes per year (or 48 quakes per month)Mag. 1 or higher: 589 quakes per year (or 49 quakes per month)The area where this quake occurred has a very high level of seismic activity. It has had at least 6 quakes above magnitude 7 since 1900, which suggests that larger earthquakes of this size occur infrequently, probably on average approximately every 20 to 25 years.Number of quakes per yearPrevious quakes in the same area of this earthquake