Moderate magnitude 4.8 earthquake at 35 km depth29 Sep 04:34 UTC: First to report: EMSC after 18 minutes.29 Sep 04:34: Now using data updates from USGSI didn't feel itI felt this quakeEarthquake detailsDate & timeSep 29, 2026 04:16:27 UTC - Local time at epicenterTuesday, Sep 29, 2026, at 04:16 am (Universal Time GMT +0)Statusconfirmed (manually revised)Magnitude4.80Depth35.1 kmEpicenter latitude / longitude55.3157°S / 28.2098°WSouth Georgia & South Sandwich IslandsSeismic antipode55.3157°N / 151.7902°EQuality27 seismic stationsShaking intensityIV Light shaking near epicenterFelt0 reportsPrimary data sourceUSGS (United States Geological Survey)Nearest volcanoProtector Seamounts (66 km / 41 mi)Weather at epicenter at time of quakeBroken Clouds -9°C (16 F), humidity: 91%, wind: 11 m/s (21 kts) from SWEstimated seismic energy released1 x 1012 joules (278 megawatt hours, equivalent to 239 tons of TNT) | equivalent to ONE quake of magnitude 4.8 | about seismic energy21 minutes agoSep 29, 2026 04:16 GMT / Sep 29, 2026 04:16 am (Universal Time)Lat / Lng: -55.3157 / -28.2098: South Sandwich Islands RegionSource: USGSOther sources: EMSC: 4.8 / 35 kmDetail info | You felt it? - Report it!';storedMarkers.push(['quake-23398329',-55.31570,-28.20980,'21 minutes ago: Mag. 4.8, South Sandwich Islands Region',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 South Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsNearby placesThe quake occurred far from any larger inhabited place.User-reports for this quakeThere are no user reports for this quake yet.If you felt it, be the first to report it!Get the Android appCompare 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 GMT2026-09-29EpicenterAgency4.835 km22 mi04:16:27.199South Sandwich Islands regionUSGS (United States Geological Survey)4.835 km22 mi04:16:27.199SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS REGION0 km (0 mi) epicenter difference with USGSEMSC (European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre)Aftershocks 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 6 km2 (2 square miles) as a first-order estimate. The length of the rupture zone thus was probably around 4 km (3 mi).[More info]Recorded aftershocks, latest first (0 quake)Sep 29, 2026 04:16 am (Universal Time)21 minutes ago4.835 km0 km - This quakeSouth Sandwich Islands RegionMain 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 51 quakes on average per year in the area near the epicenter of this quake (within 100 km/61 mi):Mag. 6 or higher: 0.43 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 2.3 years)Mag. 5 or higher: 10.2 quakes per yearMag. 4 or higher: 50 quakes per year (or 4.1 quakes per month)Mag. 3 or higher: 60 quakes per year (or 5 quakes per month)Mag. 2 or higher: 60 quakes per year (or 5 quakes per month)The area where this quake occurred has a very high level of seismic activity. It has had at least 54 quakes above magnitude 6 since 1900, which suggests that larger earthquakes of this size occur infrequently, probably on average approximately every 1 to 5 years.Number of quakes per yearPrevious quakes in the same area of this earthquake