M5.0 Earthquake Strikes Pagan Region, Northern Mariana Islands

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck the Pagan region of the Northern Mariana Islands at a depth of 129.4 kilometers, at 02:54 UTC on Oct. 20, 2026, the U.S. Geological Survey said. USGS reports the quake's time in UTC only.

Pagan Island, the nearest named land to the epicenter, has had no permanent population since its residents left following a 1981 volcanic eruption.

USGS lists the quake as the mainshock of its own aftershock sequence, with no aftershocks of magnitude 3 or larger recorded so far.