Latest quakes worldwide in the past 24 hours on Sunday, April 28, 2024 - list, stats and map

The last earthquake in the world occurred 7 minutes ago:

A light magnitude 2.0 earthquake hit 42 km (26 mi) away from Hilo, Hawaii,  United States, in the early morning of Sunday, Apr 28, 2024 at 1.01 am local time (Pacific/Honolulu GMT -10). The quake had a very shallow depth of 1.4 km (0.9 mi) and was not felt (or at least not reported so).

The last quake above magnitude 4 today occurred 23 minutes ago:

A strong magnitude 4.6 earthquake occurred in the South Pacific Ocean near the coast of Gisborne,  New Zealand, late in the evening of Saturday, Apr 27, 2024 at 10.45 pm local time (GMT -12). The quake had a moderate depth of 100 km (62 mi) and was not felt (or at least not reported so).

By far, most earthquakes in the world occur along the margins of the Pacific Ocean, followed by the vast Alpine-Himalayan mountain belts that stretch from southern Europe through Turkey, the Caucasus, Iran, Pakistan, to northern India, Nepal and southern China.
Most of these regions are in oceanic or continental collision zones where tectonic plates collide with each other and release energy in form of earthquakes.

In the past 24 hours, there were 1 quake of magnitude 6.5, 3 quakes between 5.0 and 6.0, 40 quakes between 4.0 and 5.0, 93 quakes between 3.0 and 4.0, and 233 quakes between 2.0 and 3.0. There were also 539 quakes below magnitude 2.0 which people don't normally feel.

The strongest earthquake in the world in the past 24 hours occurred 19 hours ago:

A very strong magnitude 6.5 earthquake occurred in the Indian Ocean near the coast of West Java,  Indonesia, late in the evening of Saturday, Apr 27, 2024 at 11.29 pm local time (GMT +7). The quake had a very shallow depth of 10 km (6 mi) and was felt over a large region.

Most earthquakes are small and cause no damage, but occasionally, there are bigger ones that can cause considerable damage to people and infrastructure. How much damage a quake does depends a lot on a number of factors including:
- magnitude
- depth beneath the surface
- duration and motion of the shaking
- local geology
- population density
- overall building standards of the affected area
- risk awareness and preparedness
Quakes below magnitude 5 rarely cause damage, while quakes above around magnitude 7 almost always result in extensive damage, even in areas with very good building standards such as in the western US or Japan. Quakes from magnitudes 8 often result in wide-spread or even catastrophic destruction.

The ground shaking of earthquakes can cause soil liquefaction, landslides and avalanches, the opening of fissures in the ground, deformation of the ground, cracks in walls and other structures leading to their collapse. As secondary and often even more severe damage, this can lead to fires, gas leaks, or even tsunamis if the sea floor is moved in a way to displace a large mass of water.

Earthquakes are among the (if not THE) most dangerous type of natural disaster.
According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), quakes caused nearly 750,000 deaths globally in the period 1998-2017, more than half of all deaths related to natural disasters.

Each day, many thousands of people feel an earthquake somewhere. Stronger quakes can be felt by millions of people.
According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 750,000 people were killed by quakes and more than 125 million people injured, made homeless or displaced or otherwise seriously affected by earthquakes during the 20 years from 1998-2017.