Light · M4.0–4.9
Light earthquakes are felt by most people indoors and can rattle windows and dishes, but they rarely cause meaningful damage to well-built structures.
Class
Light
Per year (global)
~13,000
Last 12 months
4,822
Since 1900
110,944
Largest recorded
M5.0
Light earthquakes are felt by most people indoors and can rattle windows and dishes, but they rarely cause meaningful damage to well-built structures.
Typical effects. Noticeable shaking of indoor objects; a rumbling sound; occasional cracked plaster near the epicentre. Serious damage is uncommon.
Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step is about 32× more energy, so a magnitude 4 releases far more energy than the band below it. But felt shaking and damage also depend on depth, distance and local geology.
The most recent events recorded in the M4.0–4.9 range, worldwide.
September 5, 2026 · 101 km deep
September 4, 2026 · 156 km deep
September 4, 2026 · 61 km deep
September 2, 2026 · 35 km deep
August 31, 2026 · 84 km deep
August 29, 2026 · 61 km deep
August 28, 2026 · 118 km deep
August 27, 2026 · 10 km deep
August 26, 2026 · 10 km deep
August 25, 2026 · 386 km deep
August 25, 2026 · 323 km deep
August 25, 2026 · 13 km deep
August 24, 2026 · 68 km deep
August 23, 2026 · 10 km deep
August 19, 2026 · 10 km deep
August 19, 2026 · 84 km deep
August 19, 2026 · 10 km deep
August 17, 2026 · 114 km deep
August 15, 2026 · 93 km deep
August 14, 2026 · 10 km deep
August 14, 2026 · 93 km deep
August 13, 2026 · 49 km deep
August 12, 2026 · 10 km deep
August 12, 2026 · 16 km deep
August 12, 2026 · 147 km deep
August 10, 2026 · 103 km deep
August 9, 2026 · 35 km deep
August 9, 2026 · 111 km deep
August 9, 2026 · 163 km deep
August 9, 2026 · 10 km deep
FAQ
Light earthquakes are felt by most people indoors and can rattle windows and dishes, but they rarely cause meaningful damage to well-built structures. On the moment-magnitude scale, magnitude 4 covers M4.0–4.9. Noticeable shaking of indoor objects; a rumbling sound; occasional cracked plaster near the epicentre. Serious damage is uncommon.
About ~13,000 earthquakes in the M4.0–4.9 range occur worldwide each year. Our catalog recorded 4,822 in the last 12 months and 110,944 since 1900.
Noticeable shaking of indoor objects; a rumbling sound; occasional cracked plaster near the epicentre. Serious damage is uncommon. Impact depends far more on depth, distance to people and building quality than on magnitude alone — a shallow magnitude 4 under a city is far more dangerous than a deep one far offshore.