A very shallow magnitude 5.7 earthquake was reported in the morning near Managua, Departamento de Managua, Nicaragua.According to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), the quake hit on Thursday, March 26th, 2026, at 11:15 am local time at a very shallow depth of 9. 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.Our monitoring service identified a second report from France's Réseau National de Surveillance Sismique (RéNaSS) which listed the quake at magnitude 5.0. Other agencies reporting the same quake include the citizen-seismograph network of RaspberryShake at magnitude 5.6, and the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) at magnitude 5.6.Generally quakes of this magnitude are recorded by more than one agency and the results can vary, with subsequent reports that come in after the first one often showing more accuracy.Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should have been widely felt by almost everyone in the area of the epicenter. It might have caused light to moderate damage. Moderate shaking probably occurred in Mateare (pop. 61,200) located 10 km from the epicenter, Nagarote (pop. 26,300) 12 km away, Ciudad Sandino (pop. 50,000) 22 km away, and La Paz Centro (pop. 23,500) 23 km away.In Managua (pop. 973,100) located 31 km from the epicenter, Tipitapa (pop. 50,000) 42 km away, and Leon (pop. 144,500) 47 km away, the quake should have been felt as light shaking.VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you’re in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.Earthquake data: Date & time: Mar 26, 2026 05:15 pm (Universal Time) local time (26 Mar 2026 17:15 GMT)Magnitude: 5.6Depth: 112.00 kmEpicenter latitude / longitude: 12.16°N / 86.46°W (Departamento de Managua, Nicaragua)Primary data source: EMSC