Are We Experiencing More Earthquakes? A Decade of Data Analyzed

Following a recent cluster of deadly earthquakes in Indonesia, Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela, many are asking if the Earth is shaking more frequently than in the past. An examination of a decade of earthquake data by Al Jazeera reveals how 2026 compares and explains the science behind where and how these disasters strike.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), approximately 20,000 earthquakes are recorded globally each year, though most go unnoticed. Only tremors reaching magnitude 6 and above typically cause widespread destruction. In 2026, major events have included a magnitude 7.8 off Mindanao in the Philippines, powerful quakes in Venezuela, and recent major tremors in Mexico, Colombia, and Indonesia.

Between 2016 and 2025, the world averaged 133 earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater annually, ranging from a low of 99 in 2024 to a high of 157 in 2021. By mid-August 2026, 91 such earthquakes had been recorded, keeping the pace slightly ahead of the previous decade's average but still within normal parameters.

Experts emphasize that an earthquake's lethality depends more on its depth, proximity to urban areas, and local building standards than its magnitude on the Richter scale. Furthermore, seismologists note there is no such thing as an 'earthquake season,' as tectonic stress accumulates over long periods independently of annual cycles.

Earthquakes occur when the Earth's tectonic plates lock together and suddenly release built-up stress along faults. About 90 percent of global earthquakes happen within the Pacific Ring of Fire, which encompasses Japan, the Philippines, and Indonesia, while the Alpide belt accounts for another 17 percent of the world's largest tremors.

Earthquake size is measured using the moment magnitude scale, where each whole-number increase represents roughly 32 times more energy released. Historic records show that the most powerful earthquake ever recorded was a magnitude 9.5 in Valdivia, Chile, in 1960.