In the early afternoon of Sunday July 19th, 2026, a shallow and significant M5.3 earthquake hit in the North Pacific Ocean 182 kilometer from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia.
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Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 142 kilometers (88 mi) off the coast of Russia, 182 kilometer south 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: | Jul 19, 2026 12:39 (Kamchatka Time) - Jul 19, 2026 00:39 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 182 km south of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Kamchatka, Russia. Coordinates 51°31'43"N 159°34'18"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.3 Detected by 290 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.034 . |
| 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 . Vilyuchinsk in Kamchatka, Russia is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 175 kilometer (109 mi) south-east of Vilyuchinsk.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 175 km (109 mi) NW from epicenter |
Vilyuchinsk Kamchatka, Russia. |
| 182 km (113 mi) N from epicenter |
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Kamchatka, Russia. |
| 202 km (126 mi) NW from epicenter |
Yelizovo Kamchatka, Russia. |
5 Aftershocks detected
After this earthquake struck, 5 smaller aftershocks occurred. A 5 magnitude earthquake hit 2 days later 15 km (9 mi) north of this earthquake.
Before this earthquake struck, 1 smaller foreshock occurred. Roughly 2 days before this earthquake, a foreshock measuring MAG-4.3 was detected nearby this earthquake.
Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks
| Classification | Magnitude | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreshock | M 4.3 |
2 days earlier Jul 17, 2026 10:44 (Kamchatka Time) | 26 km (16 mi) SW from Main Shock. |
| Main Shock This Earthquake |
M 5.3 |
Jul 19, 2026 12:39 (Kamchatka Time) | - |
| Aftershock | M 4.6 |
23 hrs later Jul 20, 2026 12:09 (Kamchatka Time) | 15 km (9 mi) SE from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 4.6 |
23 hrs later Jul 20, 2026 12:09 (Kamchatka Time) | 64 km (40 mi) NW from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 5.0 |
2 days later Jul 21, 2026 16:40 (Kamchatka Time) | 15 km (9 mi) N from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 4.6 |
2 days later Jul 21, 2026 16:40 (Kamchatka Time) | 76 km (47 mi) NE from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 4.5 |
3 days later Jul 22, 2026 01:10 (Kamchatka Time) | 16 km (10 mi) SE from Main Shock. |
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.
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 June 20th, 2026, when a 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit 153 km (95 mi) further north-east. An even stronger magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck on July 29th, 2025.
In total, 214 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.3 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 17 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 5.3. 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 11/08/26 02:18 (). 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 us7000t1py
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20260719_0000009
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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