Significant M5.1 Earthquake struck on Monday Night near San Juan in Argentina.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on March 9th, 2026. Last updated March 31st, 2026.

Under land 96 kilometer from San Juan in Argentina, a significant M5.1 earthquake occurred deep in the night of Monday March 9th, 2026. Another nearby country is Chile.

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Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in Argentina, 96 kilometer (60 mi) west of San Juan. The center of this earthquake had an intermediate depth of 112 km.

Date and Time:	Mar 9, 2026 03:10 (San Juan Time) - Mar 9, 2026 06:10 Universal Time.
Location:	96 km west of San Juan, Argentina. Coordinates 31°26'46"S 69°32'33"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.1 Detected by 82 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.063 .
Depth:	112 km (69 mi) An intermediate depth.
Tsunami Risk:	Tsunami very unlikely Tsunami's are usually caused by MAG-6.5+ earthquakes, less than 100km shallow, and with an epicenter under sea. Neither of this seems to be the case. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake struck within proximity of multiple countries. Argentina and Chile are both within 300km distance of its epicenter.

Located 95 kilometer (59 mi) west of the epicenter of this earthquake, Villa Paula de Sarmiento (San Juan, Argentina) is the nearest significant population center.

Multiple major population centers exist within 300km of the earthquake that struck today. Santiago is located 246 km to the southwest. Mendoza is located 174 km to the south-east. San Juan is located 96 km to the east.

An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below.

Overview of nearby places

Shaking reported by 5 people in 2 countries

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 5 people have reported shaking in 3 places in 2 countries (Argentina, Chile).We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

• San Juan, San Juan, Argentina: 2 people.
• Mendoza, Mendoza, Argentina: 2 people.
• La Serena, Coquimbo, Chile: 1 person.

11 Aftershocks detected

Since this main shock, 11 smaller aftershocks were detected. A 3.5 magnitude earthquake hit 2 days later 70 km (44 mi) east of this earthquake.

Before this earthquake struck, 13 smaller foreshocks occurred. Nearby this earthquake a foreshock struck 2 days earlier. It measured a magnitude of 3.3

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

Aftershocks are usually at least 1 order of magnitude less strong than main shocks. The more time passes, the smaller the chance and likely strength of any potential aftershocks.

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.

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 February 12th, 2026, when a 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit 194 km (120 mi) further west. An even stronger magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck on April 24th, 2017.

In total, 75 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 2 months.

Tsunami very unlikely

It is very unlikely that this eartquake will cause any tsunami's. The reported magnitude is lower than the MAG-6.5 strength required to cause any earthquakes. In addition, this earthquake was not very shallow and appears to have occurred under land. However always stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Sources

Last updated 31/03/26 08:58 (). As more information on this earthquake becomes available this article will be updated. This article is automatically composed based on data originating from multiple sources.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000s33f
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20260309_0000094
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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