In the evening of Wednesday January 28th, 2026, a shallow and significant M5.1 foreshock hit in the North Pacific Ocean 184 kilometer from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia.
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Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 159 kilometers (99 mi) off the coast of Russia, 184 kilometer south-southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in Kamchatka. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 10 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.
| Date and Time: | Jan 28, 2026 20:24 (Kamchatka Time) - Jan 28, 2026 08:24 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 184 km SSE of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Kamchatka, Russia. Coordinates 51°39'56"N 160°4'43"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.1 Detected by 115 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.053 . |
| Depth: | 10 km (6 mi) A very 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 . The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Vilyuchinsk in Kamchatka, Russia. Vilyuchinsk is located 181 kilometer (112 mi) south-east of the epicenter.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 181 km (112 mi) NW from epicenter |
Vilyuchinsk Kamchatka, Russia. |
| 184 km (114 mi) NNW from epicenter |
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Kamchatka, Russia. |
| 205 km (127 mi) NW from epicenter |
Yelizovo Kamchatka, Russia. |
This is likely a foreshock
This earthquake was followed by a stronger MAG-5.2 earthquake, classifying this earthquake as a foreshock.
Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks
| Classification | Magnitude | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreshock | M 4.9 |
2 days earlier Jan 26, 2026 16:43 (Kamchatka Time) | 75 km (46 mi) ENE from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 5.1 |
2 days earlier Jan 26, 2026 22:21 (Kamchatka Time) | 76 km (47 mi) ENE from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 4.9 |
1 day earlier Jan 27, 2026 12:42 (Kamchatka Time) | 55 km (34 mi) SSE from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 4.9 |
1 day earlier Jan 27, 2026 12:49 (Kamchatka Time) | 13 km (8 mi) ESE from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 5.0 |
1 hr earlier Jan 28, 2026 19:57 (Kamchatka Time) | 13 km (8 mi) SE from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock This Earthquake |
M 5.1 |
50 mins earlier Jan 28, 2026 20:24 (Kamchatka Time) | 67 km (42 mi) ENE from Main Shock. |
| Main Shock | M 5.2 |
Jan 28, 2026 21:14 (Kamchatka Time) | - |
| Aftershock | M 4.5 |
11 hrs later Jan 29, 2026 08:31 (Kamchatka Time) | 56 km (35 mi) E from Main Shock. |
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 26th, 2026, when a 5.2 magnitude earthquake hit 208 km (129 mi) further southwest. An even stronger magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck on July 29th, 2025.
In total, 286 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 13 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 10 km (6 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 29/01/26 09:28 (). This article is automatically generated based on available data. We keep checking multiple sources for additional information. This article gets updated as new details on this earthquake become available.
- US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000s4yk
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20260128_0000138
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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