Weather and Nature

Earthquake today in Brazil

Quakes recorded in the Brazil area over the past weeks, newest first.

Automatic information from scientific catalogues. In an emergency, follow your local emergency service and geological survey.

Magnitude

5.2

Moderate (5 to 5.9)

18 km SSE of Camaná, Peru · 10/11/26, 1:42 PM UTC

Value

25

Magnitude ≥ 2,5 · 30 day

MagnitudePlaceWhenDepthCategory
4.311 km SE of Huara, Chile10/15/26, 8:25 PM UTC72 kmLight (4 to 4.9)
4.267 km SSW of Vallenar, Chile10/14/26, 2:42 PM UTC48 kmLight (4 to 4.9)
4.916 km WSW of La Tirana, Chile10/14/26, 3:11 AM UTC45 kmLight (4 to 4.9)
5.098 km NW of Coquimbo, Chile10/14/26, 12:36 AM UTC10 kmModerate (5 to 5.9)
5.193 km NNW of Coquimbo, Chile10/14/26, 12:30 AM UTC22 kmModerate (5 to 5.9)
4.470 km NNE of Calama, Chile10/13/26, 11:26 PM UTC124 kmLight (4 to 4.9)
4.138 km SSW of Taltal, Chile10/13/26, 12:38 PM UTC32 kmLight (4 to 4.9)
4.438 km NE of Chilecito, Argentina10/13/26, 3:04 AM UTC128 kmLight (4 to 4.9)
4.823 km SW of San Antonio, Chile10/12/26, 6:17 PM UTC34 kmLight (4 to 4.9)
4.331 km ESE of Puente Alto, Chile10/12/26, 10:29 AM UTC107 kmLight (4 to 4.9)
4.361 km WNW of San Antonio de los Cobres, Argentina10/11/26, 9:33 PM UTC196 kmLight (4 to 4.9)
5.218 km SSE of Camaná, Peru10/11/26, 1:42 PM UTC45 kmModerate (5 to 5.9)
4.320 km NNE of El Pedregal, Peru10/9/26, 10:55 AM UTC111 kmLight (4 to 4.9)
5.172 km SSW of Colchane, Chile10/9/26, 10:22 AM UTC124 kmModerate (5 to 5.9)
4.456 km W of Ollagüe, Chile10/9/26, 6:41 AM UTC121 kmLight (4 to 4.9)
4.539 km NE of Calama, Chile10/8/26, 5:35 AM UTC121 kmLight (4 to 4.9)
4.746 km WNW of Ollagüe, Chile10/7/26, 3:46 PM UTC108 kmLight (4 to 4.9)
4.318 km SE of Coquimbo, Chile10/7/26, 9:09 AM UTC73 kmLight (4 to 4.9)
4.119 km S of Yacuiba, Bolivia10/6/26, 3:57 PM UTC526 kmLight (4 to 4.9)
4.560 km WNW of Colchani, Bolivia10/6/26, 6:54 AM UTC192 kmLight (4 to 4.9)
4.736 km WNW of Ollagüe, Chile10/6/26, 6:16 AM UTC122 kmLight (4 to 4.9)
4.460 km SSE of Camiña, Chile10/6/26, 12:41 AM UTC105 kmLight (4 to 4.9)
4.2172 km ESE of Antofagasta, Chile10/5/26, 8:25 AM UTC94 kmLight (4 to 4.9)
4.277 km ESE of Ollagüe, Chile10/4/26, 12:07 PM UTC169 kmLight (4 to 4.9)
4.330 km NNW of Valparaíso, Chile10/2/26, 5:28 PM UTC32 kmLight (4 to 4.9)
Magnitude and date of Brazil earthquakes over the last 30 daysScatter chart of the 25 earthquakes recorded in Brazil over the last 30 days: date on the horizontal axis, magnitude on the vertical, with the circle growing with magnitude. The largest in the window reached 5.2.4.04.55.05.5MagnitudeSep 16, 2026Sep 23, 2026Oct 01, 2026Oct 08, 2026Oct 16, 20265.2
Our own chart, from the same 30-day list for Brazil shown above.

How to read these numbers

Position: -34.7° / 5.6° lat, -74.1° / -33.6° lon

Range

RangeWhat it means
Micro (below 2)Only seismographs record it. Nobody feels it.
Minor (2 to 3.9)Sometimes felt near the epicentre, no damage.
Light (4 to 4.9)Widely felt, objects rattle, damage is rare.
Moderate (5 to 5.9)Damage to weak buildings near the epicentre.
Strong (6 to 6.9)Can destroy buildings up to a hundred kilometres away.
Major (7 to 7.9)Serious damage over a wide area.
Great (8 and above)Destruction across hundreds of kilometres; tsunami risk.

Choose a region

How to read this page

How to read magnitude

Each whole point of magnitude multiplies the energy released by about 31.6. Between the largest on this list (5.2) and one of magnitude 2.5 the gap is orders of magnitude, not percent.

Where the list comes from

The 25 records come from the USGS catalogue (and, in Europe, from EMSC), filtered by the coordinate box for Brazil: -34.7° / 5.6° lat, -74.1° / -33.6° lon. Each row’s time is the catalogue’s own, in UTC.

Preliminary data

Magnitude and depth in the first hours are preliminary and shift as more stations enter the solution. This page issues no warnings and does not replace civil protection authorities.

What to do during shaking

The official advice is to drop, cover your head and hold on to something firm, away from windows, until the shaking stops. The full guide is on the United States preparedness portal.

Ready.gov — Earthquakes

Understanding seismic activity in Brazil

How often did the ground shake in Brazil in the last 30 days?

Over the last 30 days the catalogue recorded 25 earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or above in the Brazil area, an average of 5.8 a week across the window this page covers.

Of the Brazil list, 0 came in below magnitude 4 (felt nearby, no damage), 21 between 4 and 5 and 4 at 5 or above — the normal proportion for any seismic region: many small, few large.

What does magnitude 5.2 mean in Brazil?

The largest event in the window for Brazil was magnitude 5.2 (Moderate (5 to 5.9)), at 18 km SSE of Camaná, Peru, on 10/11/26, 1:42 PM UTC. The scale is logarithmic: that event released roughly 11,220 times more energy than one of magnitude 2.5. From 5 to 6.5 damage depends heavily on construction: a building to seismic code copes well, old masonry does not.

Why does Brazil have earthquakes?

The area this page covers (-34.7° / 5.6° lat, -74.1° / -33.6° lon) sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, the belt of subduction zones that concentrates most of the planet’s earthquakes: there an oceanic plate dives beneath another, builds up stress and releases it in rupture. The median depth across this list is 107 km, and 32% of them are shallow (under 70 km), the band that shakes the surface hardest.

Words on this page

Magnitude

A measure of the size of an earthquake at its source, on a logarithmic scale: each whole point multiplies the energy released by about 31.6. A magnitude 7 event releases a thousand times more energy than a magnitude 5, not 1.4 times.

Standard definition by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) — ANSS ComCat · Magnitude

Richter and moment magnitude

The Richter scale, from 1935, was calibrated for Californian seismographs and saturates: above 7 it stops separating events. Agencies now publish moment magnitude (Mw), computed from the seismic moment — fault area, slip and rock rigidity. That is what the news still calls "the Richter scale".

Standard definition by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) — ANSS ComCat · Richter and moment magnitude

Focal depth

How many kilometres below the surface the rupture began. The USGS calls it shallow up to 70 km, intermediate from 70 to 300 km and deep beyond that. A shallow quake shakes the surface far harder than a deep one of the same magnitude.

Standard definition by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) — ANSS ComCat · Focal depth

Epicentre

The point on the surface directly above the earthquake’s focus, where the rupture began. The place a catalogue names is the nearest geographical reference to the epicentre, not necessarily the worst-hit town: that depends on depth and on ground type.

Epicentre

Preliminary data

A measurement published as soon as it is collected, before the agency’s final review. It can be corrected or withdrawn: earthquake magnitudes shift in the first hours, air-quality readings are revised weeks later. Use it to plan your day, not for regulatory or legal purposes.

Preliminary data

Aftershock

A smaller earthquake following a larger one on the same fault, while the rock settles into its new distribution of stress. Aftershocks are most frequent in the first hours and can continue for months, always below the magnitude of the main event.

Aftershock

See the full environment and live data glossary

Data from 10/16/26, 1:26 AM UTC

  • Dados de cidades: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)

How to read these numbers

The query uses a coordinate box around Brazil, shown at the end of the page. The list can therefore include an event just across the border or offshore, which is useful: a strong quake a hundred kilometres out to sea is still felt on land.

Frequently asked questions

Was there an earthquake in Brazil today?
If the first row carries today’s date, yes. When there is no recent event, the table shows earlier quakes from the queried period so you have a reference.
Why are small quakes listed here?
Where the seismic network is dense, the catalogue records low magnitudes that nobody feels. That makes a well monitored region look more active than one with few stations.

Related pages