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Annual review · USGS ComCat

Earthquakes in 2024

In 2024, USGS catalogued 14,132 M4+ earthquakes worldwide, including 99 significant M6+ events.

14,132 magnitude-4-and-above earthquakes were catalogued worldwide in 2024, including 99 significant M6+ events. The strongest reached M7.5.

14,132
M4+ events
99
Significant M6+
M7.5
Strongest
93 km
Avg depth

The year in one line

2024 logged 14,132 catalogued M4+ earthquakes worldwide, 99 of them major M6+ events, topping out at magnitude 7.5.

14,132
M4+ events worldwide
99
major M6+ events
M7.5
strongest of the year
93 km
average hypocentral depth

Major-event activity peaked in Jan with 12 M6+ events, aftershock sequences can drive month-to-month spikes for over a year after a megathrust.

Magnitude breakdown - 2024

How 2024's 14,132 catalogued M4+ earthquakes split across the magnitude scale

Value

What this shows As in every year, the catalog is dominated by moderate M4–5 events; the rare M6+ band - 99 events in 2024 - is where damaging shaking lives.

Source USGS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat) As of 2024

Major (M6+) events by month

Count of significant (M6+) earthquakes catalogued in each month of 2024.

Jan

12

Feb

4

Mar

8

Apr

12

May

8

Jun

7

Jul

9

Aug

10

Sep

8

Oct

7

Nov

5

Dec

9

Significant earthquakes in 2024 (99)

Every catalogued M6+ earthquake recorded during 2024, strongest impact first.

Mag Location Depth
7.5 2024 Noto Peninsula, Japan Earthquake 10.0 km
7.4 15 km S of Hualien City, Taiwan 40.0 km
7.4 41 km ESE of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile 127.3 km
7.3 24 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu 54.4 km
7.2 10 km WSW of Atiquipa, Peru 24.0 km
7.1 106 km WSW of Sangay, Philippines 639.5 km
7.1 2024 Hyuganada Sea, Japan Earthquake 24.0 km
7.0 128 km WNW of Aykol, China 13.0 km
7.0 102 km E of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia 29.0 km
7.0 2024 Offshore Cape Mendocino, California Earthquake 10.0 km
6.9 36 km ENE of Ambunti, Papua New Guinea 41.5 km
6.9 75 km W of Pangai, Tonga 96.0 km
6.8 Macquarie Island region 23.2 km
6.8 Maug Islands region, Northern Mariana Islands 222.0 km
6.8 20 km E of Barcelona, Philippines 32.0 km
6.8 42 km SSW of Bartolomé Masó, Cuba 14.0 km
6.8 Kuril Islands 146.0 km
6.7 93 km SE of Sarangani, Philippines 62.6 km
6.6 123 km NW of Tarauacá, Brazil 607.0 km
6.6 70 km NW of Fangale’ounga, Tonga 137.0 km
6.6 south of Africa 4.0 km
6.6 125 km SE of Neiafu, Tonga 10.0 km
6.6 122 km ESE of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea 56.0 km
6.5 70 km W of Tarauacá, Brazil 621.1 km
6.5 111 km ESE of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea 49.0 km
6.5 Bonin Islands, Japan region 496.0 km
6.5 151 km E of Dolinsk, Russia 402.2 km
6.5 271 km WNW of Port McNeill, Canada 3.8 km
6.4 45 km SSW of Jurm, Afghanistan 204.0 km
6.4 148 km NW of Fangale’ounga, Tonga 209.0 km
6.4 110 km N of Paciran, Indonesia 9.5 km
6.4 Vanuatu region 10.0 km
6.4 15 km NNE of Hualien City, Taiwan 13.9 km
6.4 150 km NW of Tobelo, Indonesia 22.0 km
6.4 28 km WSW of Brisas Barra de Suchiate, Mexico 61.9 km
6.4 209 km WSW of Tofino, Canada 10.0 km
6.4 56 km S of Panguna, Papua New Guinea 39.0 km
6.4 56 km ESE of Molina, Chile 109.0 km
6.3 39 km SW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu 31.0 km
6.3 southern East Pacific Rise 10.0 km
6.3 18 km W of Uwajima, Japan 32.0 km
6.3 83 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu 22.0 km
6.3 49 km NNE of Port-Olry, Vanuatu 149.0 km
6.3 44 km E of Barcelona, Philippines 15.0 km
6.3 168 km SW of Lorengau, Papua New Guinea 8.0 km
6.3 266 km NE of Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands 31.0 km
6.3 Mauritius - Reunion region 10.0 km
6.3 239 km WNW of Cochrane, Chile 10.0 km
6.3 108 km SSW of Adak, Alaska 18.0 km
6.3 104 km SSW of Adak, Alaska 19.0 km
6.2 8 km SW of Anamizu, Japan 10.0 km
6.2 Southwest Indian Ridge 10.0 km
6.2 northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge 10.0 km
6.2 137 km ENE of Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands 10.0 km
6.2 Prince Edward Islands region 10.0 km
6.2 Kermadec Islands region 16.0 km
6.2 Pacific-Antarctic Ridge 10.0 km
6.2 Bonin Islands, Japan region 546.0 km
6.2 6 km E of Jalapa, Guatemala 272.0 km
6.2 59 km NNE of Angoram, Papua New Guinea 7.0 km
6.2 40 km WNW of Tamarindo, Costa Rica 16.0 km
6.2 146 km SSW of Severo-Kuril’sk, Russia 40.0 km
6.1 Pagan region, Northern Mariana Islands 184.0 km
6.1 15 km W of Taxisco, Guatemala 90.0 km
6.1 Kermadec Islands, New Zealand 13.0 km
6.1 Volcano Islands, Japan region 236.0 km
6.1 Macquarie Island region 10.0 km
6.1 77 km E of Minami-Sōma, Japan 29.0 km
6.1 29 km S of Hualien City, Taiwan 9.0 km
6.1 13 km SSW of Hualien City, Taiwan 10.0 km
6.1 91 km S of Banjar, Indonesia 59.7 km
6.1 154 km WSW of Fakfak, Indonesia 16.0 km
6.1 101 km ENE of Luganville, Vanuatu 19.2 km
6.1 34 km SW of Atiquipa, Peru 18.0 km
6.1 99 km NE of Norsup, Vanuatu 4.0 km
6.1 30 km SSE of Hualien City, Taiwan 14.0 km
6.1 56 km SSW of La Libertad, El Salvador 26.4 km
6.1 260 km ESE of Baubau, Indonesia 576.0 km
6.1 156 km SSE of Koshima, Japan 8.0 km
6.1 38 km WNW of Hakui, Japan 8.0 km
6.1 126 km SSW of Adak, Alaska 10.0 km
6.1 33 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu 47.0 km
6.0 171 km NNE of Colonia, Micronesia 14.0 km
6.0 103 km SE of Pondaguitan, Philippines 115.0 km
6.0 68 km ESE of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea 44.0 km
6.0 169 km SW of Nikolski, Alaska 28.0 km
6.0 west of Macquarie Island 7.7 km
6.0 10 km SW of Atiquipa, Peru 27.0 km
6.0 20 km NE of Yaguaraparo, Venezuela 77.0 km
6.0 168 km SW of Nikolski, Alaska 41.0 km
6.0 73 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga 9.0 km
6.0 65 km W of Pangai, Tonga 99.3 km
6.0 117 km E of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia 26.0 km
6.0 95 km NNW of Villa General Roca, Argentina 141.0 km
6.0 67 km SSW of Gorontalo, Indonesia 143.0 km
6.0 19 km W of Doğanyol, Turkey 10.0 km
6.0 126 km N of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea 509.0 km
6.0 267 km W of Bandon, Oregon 10.0 km
6.0 Kuril Islands 207.0 km

Understand the data

How earthquakes are measured

Magnitude scales, seismographs, and depth.

Reading earthquake data

Interpreting magnitude, depth and frequency.

All years

The full long-term seismic trend.

Frequently asked questions

How many earthquakes occurred in 2024? ▼
In 2024, the USGS catalog recorded 14,132 earthquakes of magnitude 4.0 or greater worldwide. Of these, 99 reached M6.0 or above.
What was the strongest earthquake in 2024? ▼
The strongest catalogued earthquake in 2024 reached magnitude 7.5, near 2024 Noto Peninsula, Japan Earthquake. There were 10 M7+ events during the year.
How does 2024 compare to other years? ▼
A typical year sees roughly 13,000–18,000 catalogued M4+ earthquakes worldwide. 2024 recorded 14,132, with an average depth of 93 km. See the year index for the full long-term trend.
What magnitude scale is used? ▼
All magnitudes use the moment magnitude scale (Mw), the USGS standard. The scale is logarithmic, each whole step is roughly 32× more energy released.

About this data

Every figure on this page is computed directly from the USGS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), the public-domain record maintained by the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program. The worldwide catalog covers magnitude-4.0-and-above events from 2005 onward, the period over which the global seismograph network reliably detects and locates earthquakes everywhere. Magnitudes use the moment-magnitude scale (Mw), the modern standard that supersedes the older Richter scale; because the scale is logarithmic, each whole step up represents roughly thirty-two times more energy released. Depth is measured in kilometres from the surface, and shallow earthquakes generally produce stronger surface shaking than deep ones of the same magnitude. Annual counts reflect what instruments recorded, not every tremor that occurred; the current calendar year is always partial and will keep rising as the USGS adds and revises events, so it should never be compared directly against completed years.

Source: USGS ComCat, verify with USGS → · See our methodology for the full pipeline.

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