Light mag. 4.6 earthquake - Philippines Sea, Northern Mariana Islands, on Saturday, 16 Jan 2021 10:25 pm (GMT +10) -
Quake Data | Interactive map | User Reports | Earlier quakes in same area| Northern Islands | Saipan

Light magnitude 4.6 earthquake at 350 km depth
16 Jan 12:53 UTC: First to report: EMSC after 28 minutes.
16 Jan 13:36: Hypocenter depth recalculated from 351.0 to 352.0 km (from 218 to 219 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 2.1 km (1.3 mi) towards E.
16 Jan 16:28: Hypocenter depth recalculated from 352.0 to 350.0 km (from 219 to 217 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 5.3 km (3.3 mi) towards W.
16 Jan 13:36: Hypocenter depth recalculated from 351.0 to 352.0 km (from 218 to 219 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 2.1 km (1.3 mi) towards E.
16 Jan 16:28: Hypocenter depth recalculated from 352.0 to 350.0 km (from 219 to 217 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 5.3 km (3.3 mi) towards W.
Update Sat, 16 Jan 2021, 12:57
Light magnitude 4.6 quake hits 73 km northwest of Pagan Village, Northern Mariana Islands late at night4.6 quake 16 Jan 10:25 pm (GMT +10)
Just 31 minutes ago, a 4.6-magnitude earthquake struck near Pagan Village, Pagan Island, Northern Islands, Northern Mariana Islands. The tremor was recorded late at night on Saturday 16 January 2021 at 10:25 pm local time, at a great depth of 351 km below the surface.
The event was filed by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), the first seismological agency to report it.
Our monitoring service identified a second report from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) which listed the quake at magnitude 4.6 as well.
According to preliminary calculations, we do not expect that the quake was felt by many people and did not cause any damage. In Pagan Village (pop. 50, 73 km away), the quake was probably not felt.
VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you’re in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.
The event was filed by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), the first seismological agency to report it.
Our monitoring service identified a second report from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) which listed the quake at magnitude 4.6 as well.
According to preliminary calculations, we do not expect that the quake was felt by many people and did not cause any damage. In Pagan Village (pop. 50, 73 km away), the quake was probably not felt.
VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you’re in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.
Earthquake data:
Date & time: 16 Jan 2021 12:25:41 UTC -
Local time at epicenter: Saturday, 16 Jan 2021 10:25 pm (GMT +10)
Magnitude: 4.6
Depth: 350.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 18.64°N / 145.3°E

Nearest volcano: Agrigan (39 km / 24 mi)
Nearby towns and cities:
39 km (24 mi) WSW of Agrihan Village (pop: 20) --> See nearby quakes!
75 km (47 mi) NW of Pagan Village (Pagan Island) (pop: 50) --> See nearby quakes!
127 km (79 mi) NNW of Alamagan Village (pop: 15) --> See nearby quakes!
384 km (239 mi) N of Saipan (pop: 48,200) --> See nearby quakes!
Weather at epicenter at time of quake:
Clear Sky
27.1°C (81 F), humidity: 77%, wind: 6 m/s (12 kts) from E
Primary data source: EMSC (European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre)Clear Sky

Estimated released energy: 5 x 1011 joules (139 megawatt hours, equivalent to 120 tons of TNT) More info
Data for the same earthquake reported by different agencies
Info: The more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision.
Magnitude | Depth | Location | Source |
M 4.6 | 350 km | PAGAN REG., N. MARIANA ISLANDS, Northern Mariana Islands | EMSC |
M 4.6 | 345 km | Pagan Region, Northern Mariana Islands | USGS |
M 4.5 | 386 km | Mariana Islands, Northern Mariana Islands | GFZ |
User reports for this quake
User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.
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There are no user reports for this quake yet. If you felt it Earlier earthquakes in the same area since 1900
- Date / time UTC| Mag |Depth|Age|Distance| Details
- 28 Dec 1940 16:37| 7.7 |15km / 9.3mi|80 years ago|242km / 151mi| North Pacific Ocean, 388 km NE of Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands
- 29 Jul 2016 21:18| 7.6 |245km / 152mi|5 years ago|29km / 18mi| Philippines Sea, 19 km SW of Agrihan Island, Northern Mariana Islands
- 22 Sep 1902 01:46| 7.5 |unknown|119 years ago|103km / 64mi| Philippines Sea, 29 km SE of Pagan Village, Northern Mariana Islands
- 31 Oct 2007 03:30| 7.2 |207km / 129mi|13 years ago|30km / 19mi| Philippines Sea, Northern Mariana Islands
- 24 Oct 1930 20:15| 7.2 |25km / 16mi|90 years ago|145km / 90mi| North Pacific Ocean, Northern Mariana Islands
- 23 Aug 1995 07:06| 7.1 |595km / 370mi|26 years ago|26km / 16mi| Philippines Sea, Northern Mariana Islands
- 07 Mar 1962 11:01| 6.9 |635km / 395mi|59 years ago|53km / 33mi| Philippines Sea, 67 km NW of Agrihan Island, Northern Mariana Islands
- 14 May 2013 00:32| 6.8 |602km / 374mi|8 years ago|12km / 7mi| Philippines Sea, 39 km W of Agrihan Island, Northern Mariana Islands
- 16 Sep 1986 18:20| 6.7 |48km / 30mi|34 years ago|133km / 83mi| North Pacific Ocean, Northern Mariana Islands
- 01 Feb 1956 13:41| 6.7 |370km / 230mi|65 years ago|35km / 22mi| Philippines Sea, 70 km W of Agrihan Island, Northern Mariana Islands
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