Wednesday, 17 December 2025 Earthquake Report Released Globally

On Wednesday, December 17, 2025, a global earthquake report was released highlighting significant seismic activity. The report detailed numerous earthquakes above magnitude 3.0 that occurred in the previous 24 hours.

Global Earthquake Summary

In total, 583 earthquakes were recorded worldwide. This included:

• 7 earthquakes with magnitude 5.0 or greater
• 36 earthquakes with magnitude 4.0 or greater
• 162 earthquakes with magnitude 3.0 or greater
• 378 earthquakes with magnitude 2.0 or greater

Notably, there were no earthquakes recorded with a magnitude of 6.0 or higher during this reporting period. The total seismic energy released was estimated at 6.8 x 10¹³ joules, equivalent to approximately 18.8 gigawatt hours or 16,173 tons of TNT. This energy level can be likened to one earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale.

Significant Earthquakes on December 17, 2025

The report highlighted the ten largest earthquakes from that day, which included:

1. Magnitude 5.7: South Atlantic Ocean, 69 km southeast of Montagu Island, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, at 03:05 pm (GMT -2)
2. Magnitude 5.6: North Pacific Ocean, 193 km south of David, Panama, at 05:07 pm (GMT -6)
3. Magnitude 5.4: South Pacific Ocean, 187 km east of Vanuabalavu Island, Fiji, at 06:23 am (GMT +13)
4. Magnitude 5.2: North Pacific Ocean, 121 km east of Shikotan Island, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia, at 11:44 am (GMT +10)
5. Magnitude 5.1: Pacific-Antarctic Ridge, at 06:58 on December 17, 2025
6. Magnitude 5.0: Coral Sea, 85 km south of Port Vila, Shefa Province, Vanuatu, at 09:30 am (GMT +11)
7. Magnitude 5.0: North Pacific Ocean, 118 km northeast of Hachinohe, Aomori, Japan, at 06:50 pm (GMT +9)
8. Magnitude 4.7: Philippine Sea, 15 km south of Agrihan Island, Northern Mariana Islands, at 08:30 pm (Saipan time)
9. Magnitude 4.7: North Pacific Ocean, 108 km east of Shikotan, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia, at 02:49 pm (GMT +11)
10. Magnitude 4.7: Philippine Sea, 137 km east of Kikaiga-shima Island, Japan, at 11:43 am (GMT +9)

Reported Felt Earthquakes

Several earthquakes were reported felt by local populations. The most notable were:

• Magnitude 3.1: San Bernardino County, California, 14 mi north of Riverside, with 78 reports (December 16, 8:04 pm, GMT -8)
• Magnitude 3.9: Adriatic Sea, southeast of Mljet Island, Croatia, with 38 reports (December 17, 11:07 pm, Zagreb time)
• Magnitude 4.4: Azores, Portugal, with 28 reports (December 17, 8:42 pm, GMT -1)
• Magnitude 2.9: San Ramon, California, with 27 reports (December 16, 10:11 pm, GMT -8)
• Magnitude 5.6: North Pacific Ocean, with 14 reports (December 17, 5:07 pm, GMT -6)
• Magnitude 4.0: İskenderun, Turkey, with 11 reports (December 17, 4:15 am, Istanbul time)

This report sheds light on the ongoing seismic activity around the globe, highlighting the importance of preparedness for earthquakes.