A significant Magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck in the North Pacific Ocean 274 kilometer from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia in the afternoon of Wednesday January 14th, 2026.
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Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 33 kilometers (21 mi) off the coast of Russia, 274 kilometer south-southwest of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in Kamchatka. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 64 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.
| Date and Time: | Jan 14, 2026 15:08 (Kamchatka Time) - Jan 14, 2026 03:08 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 274 km SSW of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Kamchatka, Russia. Coordinates 50°47'34"N 157°5'3"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.1 Detected by 420 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.028 . |
| Depth: | 64 km (40 mi) A quite shallow depth. |
| Tsunami Risk: | Low tsunami risk Earthquakes under MAG-6.5 do not usually cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here. |
Nearby towns and cities
This earthquake may have been felt in Russia . Vilyuchinsk in Kamchatka, Russia is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 254 kilometer (158 mi) south-southwest of Vilyuchinsk.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 254 km (158 mi) NNE from epicenter |
Vilyuchinsk Kamchatka, Russia. |
| 274 km (170 mi) NNE from epicenter |
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Kamchatka, Russia. |
| 281 km (175 mi) NNE from epicenter |
Yelizovo Kamchatka, Russia. |
Aftershocks detected
In the days before this main shock, 1 smaller foreshock was detected. Nearby this earthquake a foreshock struck 2 days earlier. It measured a magnitude of 4.4
Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks
| Classification | Magnitude | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreshock | M 4.4 |
2 days earlier Jan 12, 2026 04:13 (Kamchatka Time) | 90 km (56 mi) S from Main Shock. |
| Main Shock This Earthquake |
M 5.1 |
Jan 14, 2026 15:08 (Kamchatka Time) | - |
More earthquakes coming?
The risk of aftershocks decreases rapidly over time. Usually, aftershocks are at least one order of magnitude lower than a main shock.
In only six percent of cases, significant earthquakes are followed by a larger main shock, making the current earthquake a foreshock. While the chance of this happening is not so large, it is adviced to maintain cautiousness in the hours and days following a major earthquake.
Read: How to Stay Safe during an Earthquake (cdc.gov).Earthquakes like this happen often in the region
Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since January 13th, 2026, when a 5.2 magnitude earthquake hit 195 km (121 mi) further south-southwest. An even stronger magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck on July 29th, 2025.
In total, 232 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.1 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every 16 days.
Low tsunami risk
Based on early data it appears this earthquake was not strong enough (lower than MAG-6.5) to be likely to cause destructive tsunami's. However this earthquake appeared to have hit at a shallow depth under sea, so stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.
Tsunami Risk Factors
| Factor | Under Sea? | MAG-6.5 or stronger? | Shallow depth? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Explanation | Almost all tsunami's are caused by earthquakes with their epicenter under sea or very near the sea. However stay cautious in coastal areas as earthquakes on land may cause landslides into sea, potentially still causing a local tsunami. | Under MAG 6.5: Very unlikely to cause a tsunami. MAG 6.5 to 7.5: Destructive tsunami's do occur, but are uncommon. Likely to observe small sea level changes. MAG 7.6+: Earthquakes with these magnitudes might produce destructive tsunami's. |
Most destructive tsunami's are caused by shallow earthquakes with a depth between 0 and 100km under the surface of the earth. Deeper tsunami's are unlikely to displace to ocean floor. |
| This Earthquake | This earthquake appears to have struck under the sea. | Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 5.1. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami. |
This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 64 km (40 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 20/01/26 03:28 (). This article contains currently available information about the earthquake and is automatically composed. We continue to update this article up to a few days after the earthquake occurred.
- US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000rpjy
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20260114_0000037
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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