M5.3 earthquake 185 km S of Matavai, Samoa
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 185 km S of Matavai, Samoa on Sat, Oct 26, 2019, 10:52 PM GMT+14 (08:52 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.3 (Mww, W-phase moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2019-10-26 08:52:37 UTC
- Depth
- 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 15.699° S, 171.871° W
- Region
- Samoa
- Felt reports
- 1
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Magnitude estimates
Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.3 | Mww, W-phase moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.086 · 13 stations |
| 5.29 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
Did you feel it?
1 person reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was III, weak shaking.
Fault motion and ground failure
How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.
- Faulting
- Strike-slip
- Moment magnitude
- 5.3 Mww
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 315°, dip 26°, rake -158°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 205°, dip 81°, rake -66°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 7.8 km horizontally, 1.8 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.09
- Depth from
- Operator assigned
- Station coverage gap
- 70°
- Stations used
- 70
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.3 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
Before
Earthquakes todaySamoa earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us60006378 (also filed as iscgem616736915). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 4:38 AM UTC.