While you may think quakes are a western US problem, some of the largest temblors in US history have happened in the East.
In the latest burst of seismic activity, more than a dozen earthquakes of magnitude 4.0 or higher have rattled the Pacific Ring of Fire.
13 earthquakes rattled cities across 8 countries between Wednesday and Thursday, with some minor seismic activity happening in the very center of the Pacific Ring of Fire.
There have been 13 earthquakes of a magnitude 4.0 or higher between September 9 and 10.
(FOX Weather)
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Vanuatu
The small island nation of Vanuatu, off the coast of Australia, saw 3 earthquakes strike in the area of Isangel.
The first earthquake struck around 4 a.m. local time on Thursday. It measured a magnitude 5.2 and struck about 47 miles outside the city. Over the next 3 hours, another 2 quakes rattled the same area. One measured a magnitude 4.8, while the other was a magnitude 4.7.
Wide view of Lenakel showing the port, a ship and inhabitants on the beach of Lenakel the main city or a small living center located on the west side of the island of Tanna, in the south of the Vanuatu archipelago in the South Pacific on January 31, 2025. The image illustrates the link between maritime activity and coastal daily life.
(Photo by Véronique Tournier / Hans Lucas / AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
According to the United States Geological Service (USGS), this area of the Australia plate is one of the most seismically active areas of the world.
Tonga
Further west in the Pacific Ocean, the island of Tonga was rattled by a magnitude 4.6 earthquake. The epicenter of the quake was located about 183 miles west-northwest of Houma, Tonga.
Ha’apai Islands in Tonga
(Photo by Amy Toensing/Getty Images / Getty Images)
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Alaska, United States
At 9 p.m. local time on Wednesday, a magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck near Lake Louise in Alaska, right outside Denali National Park.
The USGS reported over 230 people felt the shake, including in the city of Anchorage, which is about 114 miles south of the epicenter.
The Teklanika River in Denali National Park as seen from the Teklanika rest area in Alaska on September 21, 2022.
(Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Mexico
3 earthquakes rattled the Puerto Madero area of Mexico over the last 24 hours.
At 3:08 p.m. local time on Wednesday, a magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck about 49 miles southwest off the Puerto Madero coast in Mexico. This is close to the border between Mexico and Guatemala.
Aerial view of the Rio Suchiate, the natural border between Guatemala and Mexico, in Ciudad Hidalgo, Chiapas, southern Mexico, on April 27, 2019.
(ALFREDO ESTRELLA/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Exactly 9 hours later, at 12:08 a.m. local time, a magnitude 4.4 quake struck in the same area. This was followed by a magnitude 4.5 earthquake in the exact same spot.
Despite the quakes firing off in the ocean, no tsunami warnings were issued.
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Costa Rica
At 2:26 a.m. on Thursday, a magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck Costa Rica.
The epicenter was measured about 51 miles south-southeast of the capital of San José. The depth of the earthquake was measured to be about 6 miles.
This aerial view shows the La Sabana district in San Jose on May 11, 2026.
(Photo by MARTIN BERNETTI / AFP / Getty Images)
Peru
Two earthquakes struck the Alianza Cristiana area of Peru.
On Thursday, around 1:42 a.m. local time, a magnitude 5.3 quake occured about 79 miles west-southwest of the Alianza Cristiana, with a depth of about 6 miles.
Victoria amazonica is a species of flowering plant, the largest of the Nymphaeaceae family of water lilies near Iquitos, Loreto, Peru. Navigating one of the tributaries of the Amazon to Iquitos about 40 kilometers near the town of Indiana.
(Photo by: Sergi Reboredo/VWPics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images / Getty Images)
About 4 hours later, a second earthquake, registered as a magnitude 4.7, hit the same area.
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Bolivia
At 8:05 a.m. local time on Thursday, a magnitude 4.8 earthquake shook Cliza, Bolivia. The depth of this quake was measured to be about 231 miles deep.
Aerial view of Sucre, Bolivia on March 31, 2025
(Photo by Aizar RALDES / AFP / Getty Images)
According to the USGS, “The South American arc extends over 7,000 km (4,349 miles). Most of the large earthquakes in South America are constrained to shallow depths of 0 to 70 km resulting from both crustal and interplate deformation.”
Chile
Around 9:57 p.m. local time on Wednesday, a magnitude 4.3 earthquake rattled parts of Chile.
The epicenter was measured over 53 miles south-southeast of La Tirana, Chile, with a depth of about 76 miles.
EL TATIO, CALAMA, ANTOFAGASTA, CHILE – 2024/03/24: The geysers of El Tatio are seen at dawn in the Chilean altiplano, 4,280 meters above sea level. With nearly 80 active geysers, El Tatio is the largest geyser site in the southern hemisphere.
(Photo by Apolline Guillerot-Malick/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The USGS says, “Interplate earthquakes in this region are frequent and often large, and occur between the depths of approximately 10 and 60 km.”
Activity in the center
Two very minor earthquakes were triggered in the dead center of the Pacific Ring of Fire.
At 7:23 a.m. on Tuesday, a magnitude 2.6 earthquake struck about 12 miles the coast of Hawaii’s Big Island, near Pāhala, Hawaii.
About 3 hours later, another quake struck on shore of the Big Island. This was measured as a magnitude 2.5.
