Shallow M5.6 Earthquake hit in the North Pacific Ocean 237km from Vernon Lake (Canada) on Sunday Evening.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on July 20th, 2026. Last updated August 18th, 2026.

In the North Pacific Ocean 237 kilometer from Vernon Lake, Canada, a shallow and significant MAG-5.6 earthquake occurred just before midnight of Sunday July 19th, 2026. Shaking may have been felt by a total of 10 thousand people.

Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 185 kilometers (115 mi) off the coast of Canada, 237 kilometer west of Vernon Lake in British Columbia. 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 23:41 (Vancouver Time) - Jul 20, 2026 06:41 Universal Time.
Location:	237 km west of Vernon Lake, British Columbia, Canada. Coordinates 49°29'54"N 129°33'42"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.6 Detected by 58 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.041 .
Depth:	10 km (6 mi) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	IV Light On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Low tsunami risk Earthquakes under MAG-6.5 do not usually cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Minimal impact predicted

Based on scientific estimates by the US Geographic Survey (USGS), the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level GREEN (low). They expect an 95% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 90% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact.

Roughly 10 thousand people exposed to shaking

The USGS has published a report estimating the number of people exposed to this earthquake. Acoording to their analysis, roughly 10 thousand have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

An estimated 11,890 people were exposed to level III. At this level, weak shaking and probably no damage can be expected. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Canada .

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
0	I	Not noticable	None
20	II	Very weak	None
11,890	III	Weak	Probably none
0	IV	Light	Likely none
0	V	Moderate	Very light
0	VI	Strong	Light
0	VII	Very Strong	Moderate
0	VIII	Severe	Moderate to heavy
0	IX	Violent	Heavy
0	X	Extreme	Very heavy

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Canada . The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Vernon Lake in British Columbia, Canada. Vernon Lake is located 237 kilometer (147 mi) west of the epicenter.

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place
237 km (147 mi) E from epicenter	Vernon Lake British Columbia, Canada.

Earthquake Intensity Map

The graph below overlays a map of the region around the epicenter with earthquake intensity data provided by the US Geographic Survey. The highest intensity level detected for this earthquake is III.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Earthquake Intensity Map based on Shakemap Data provided by USGS.

Shaking reported by 9 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 9 people have reported shaking in 5 places, all within Canada.We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada: 3 people.
Courtenay, British Columbia, Canada: 3 people.
Port MacNeill, British Columbia, Canada: 1 person.
Sooke, British Columbia, Canada: 1 person.
Port Hardy, British Columbia, Canada: 1 person.

3 Aftershocks detected

Since this main shock, 3 smaller aftershocks were detected. At a distance of 34 km (21 mi) east of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 3 days later. It measured a magnitude of 4.5

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

Detected MAG2.5+ earthquakes within within 100km (62 mi), that occurred in the three days before and after the main shock.
Classification	Magnitude	When	Where
Main Shock This Earthquake	M 5.6	Jul 19, 2026 23:41 (Vancouver Time)	-
Aftershock	M 4.1	6 mins later Jul 19, 2026 23:47 (Vancouver Time)	18 km (11 mi) E from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.1	51 mins later Jul 20, 2026 00:32 (Vancouver Time)	31 km (19 mi) NE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.5	3 days later Jul 22, 2026 18:29 (Vancouver Time)	34 km (21 mi) E 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.

It's always adviced to be cautious of the risk of a larger shock following any significant earthquake, however this risk is fairly small. There is a roughly 94 percent change that no larger main shock will follow in the days following this earthquake.

Read: How to Stay Safe during an Earthquake (cdc.gov).

Earthquakes like this are common in the region

Earthquakes of this strength occur quite regularly in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since September 15th, 2024, when a 6.5 magnitude earthquake hit 246 km (153 mi) further north. An even stronger magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck on October 22nd, 2018.

In total, 12 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.6 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 10 months.

Low tsunami risk

DISCLAIMER: We strongly suggest to closely monitor advice from local authorities with regards to tsunami risks. Our analysis is based on automatically collected data from external sources, and these might contain mistakes. In addition, earthquakes can cause landslides that may lead to a tsunami, or be a followed by another, potentially stonger, earthquake.

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 5.6. 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 18/08/26 02:08 (). 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.