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Earthquakes on the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

On the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands there are very strong earthquakes with far-reaching consequences. Earthquakes with a magnitude of over 8.0 destroy numerous houses within a radius of several hundred kilometers and are causing great damage and devastation. Due to the special tectonic situation of the country, there are more earthquakes than average.

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Back to overview: South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

Most recent events

This list includes the strongest earthquakes recorded in or around the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in the past 14 days. Whether an event is listed here depends largely on its magnitude, but also on its distance from inhabited areas. All data refer to the local time. This page is updated daily at 11am UTC.

  • May 9, 2:04 am
    Magnitude 4.5: South Sandwich Islands at a depth of 10 km.
  • May 13, 1:23 am
    Magnitude 5.3: South Sandwich Islands at a depth of 10 km.
  • May 10, 9:18 pm
    Magnitude 5.4: South Sandwich Islands at a depth of 39.36 km.
  • May 10, 5:45 am
    Magnitude 4.8: South Sandwich Islands at a depth of 28.46 km.
  • May 10, 1:40 am
    Magnitude 5.1: South Sandwich Islands at a depth of 35 km.

Earthquakes on the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands since 1950

The strongest earthquake on the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands happened on 08/12/2021 in the region South Sandwich Islands with a magnitude of 8.1 on the Richter scale. The earthquake also triggered a tsunami with further victims and destructions.
DateRegionDepthMagnitudeDeathsTotal damage
08/12/2021South Sandwich Islands48 km8.10
08/12/2021South Sandwich Islands63 km7.50
08/19/2016South Sandwich Islands11 km7.40
09/08/1961South Sandwich Islands32 km7.70
09/05/1961South Sandwich Islands 7.70
09/01/1961South Sandwich Islands 7.50


These statistics are based on datas from the National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): Significant Earthquake Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K. Several data have been summarized and translated.
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