Overall Green Earthquake in Nicaragua on 26 Mar 2026 17:15 UTC

GDACS is a cooperation framework between the United Nations, the European Commission and disaster managers worldwide to improve awareness, information exchange and coordination in the first phase after major sudden-onset disasters.

M 5.5 in Nicaragua on 26 Mar 2026 17:15 UTC

Hazard models

Rapid Impact

Shakemap

Tsunami

Event summary

This earthquake is expected to have a low humanitarian impact based on the magnitude and the affected population and their vulnerability.

Earthquake Magnitude:	5.5M
Depth:	155.7 Km
Lat/Lon:	12.1114 , -86.3881
Event Date:	26 Mar 2026 17:15 UTC 26 Mar 2026 11:15 Local
Exposed Population:	510 thousand in MMI IV
Source:	NEIC us7000s7w6
Inserted at:	26 Mar 2026 17:33 UTC
INFORM Coping capacity of the alert score:	5.3 (Nicaragua)

GDACS Score

For more info on GDACS score click here.

	Earthquake (Shakemap)		GDACS score
NEIC	0		0
us7000s7w6	Scaled population (raster)	0
	C1 shakemap	0
	C2 shakemap	0
	Country Vulnerability	0
	INFORM_normalised	0
	Score no CC	0

Maximum expected impact using different data sources.

ShakeMap is a product of the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program in conjunction with the regional seismic networks. ShakeMaps provide near-real-time maps of ground motion and shaking intensity following significant earthquakes.

Episode Timeline

ID	Level	Score	Date	Mag, Depth	MMI*	Population**	Tsunami risk***	Delay (hh:mm)	Source
1695390		0	26 Mar 2026 17:15	5.5M, 155.7km	3.77	N/A (in MMI>=VII)		00:17	NEIC

The episode that generated the alert; the next major evaluations beyond 12 hours will not trigger additional alerts.

The episode that has the last updated information.

* The max MMI detected for sources having shakemaps;
** The population detected in MMI>=7 for episode with shakemap or in a 100km radius;
*** The tsunami max height.

Exposed population

The earthquake happened in Nicaragua ,of Zelaya (population 331,710) . The alertlevel for this event is GREEN

Intensity	Population
	no people

Shakemaps Timeline

Shake id #	episodeid	Lat/Lon	Magnitude	Depth	Max MMI	Date shake (UTC)	Delay (hh:mm)
1	1695390	-86.388/12.111	5.5	155.7	3.77	26 Mar 2026 17:39	00:24	(new episode)
2	1695390	-86.388/12.111	5.5	155.7	3.77	26 Mar 2026 19:37	02:21	(upd of #1)
3	1695390	-86.388/12.111	5.5	155.7	3.77	28 Mar 2026 14:00	1d 20:44	(upd of #2)

Affected Provinces

Region Province	Country	Population
Managua	Nicaragua	280000 people
Leon	Nicaragua	60000 people
Masaya	Nicaragua	58000 people
Carazo	Nicaragua	5800 people
Granada	Nicaragua	16000 people
Boaco	Nicaragua	3100 people
Matagalpa	Nicaragua	3900 people
Rivas	Nicaragua	3000 people
Chontales	Nicaragua	<1000 people
Chinandega	Nicaragua	<1000 people
Managua	Nicaragua	1.5 million people
Leon	Nicaragua	330000 people
Masaya	Nicaragua	340000 people
Carazo	Nicaragua	200000 people
Granada	Nicaragua	180000 people
Boaco	Nicaragua	160000 people
Matagalpa	Nicaragua	330000 people
Rivas	Nicaragua	170000 people
Chontales	Nicaragua	120000 people
Chinandega	Nicaragua	380000 people
Esteli	Nicaragua	170000 people
Jinotega	Nicaragua	69000 people
Choluteca	Honduras	250000 people
Madriz	Nicaragua	14000 people
Guanacaste	Costa Rica	30000 people
Rio San Juan	Nicaragua	9800 people
Zelaya	Nicaragua	24000 people
Nueva Segovia	Nicaragua	9900 people
Alajuela	Costa Rica	13000 people
El Paraiso	Honduras	13000 people
Valle	Honduras	32000 people
Francisco Morazan	Honduras	17000 people
La Union	El Salvador	16000 people
San Miguel	El Salvador	2500 people
La Paz	Honduras	no people
Morazan	El Salvador	3500 people
Zelaya	Nicaragua	no people
Alajuela	Costa Rica	<1000 people

Critical infrastructure

Airports, ports, nuclear plants and hydrodams at risk, if affected, are listed below.

Airports

Name	IATA Code	Elevation (m)	Usage	Runway type	IFR	Runway Length (ft)	Distance
Los Brasiles		80	Civ.	Paved	No	3200	9 km
Augusto Cesar Sandino International	MGA	59	Civ.	Paved	Yes	8000	24 km
Punta Huete		66				0	35 km
Montelimar		30				0	37 km
Fanor Urroz		100				0	66 km
Tamarindo	TNO	unknown				0	165 km
La Flor		55	Civ.	Paved	No	3100	187 km
San Lorenzo		20				0	188 km

Ports

Name	LOCODE	Country	Distance
Puerto Masachapa		Nicaragua	38 km
Puerto Sandino	NIPSN	Nicaragua	42 km
San Juan Del Sur	NISJS	Nicaragua	110 km
San Lorenzo	HNSLO	Honduras	184 km

Dams

Intensity	Reservoir	Dam Name	River	Year	Distance
		El Mancotal	Tuma	n/a	136 km
	Arenal	Arenal	Arenal	1978	254 km

More information

For a full list of available products related to this event, please refer to the GDACS Resources page.

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