Every Natural Disasters item from all 28 issues — earthquakes and typhoon/hurricane season updates, sourced only from official/observatory data — newest first. (17 items total, each with its original source and verification note; click through to the full issue.)
📍 Disasters in the last 30 days (older events auto-drop off the map — see the full history list below) · Click a pin to jump to its story
Per USGS observation data, no magnitude 6.0+ significant earthquakes occurred worldwide within this issue's review window (Aug 11–13) — a comparatively quiet week, with only scattered sub-M4 activity.
Verification note: Snapshot at time of compilation — seismic activity is ongoing, check USGS's official reports for the latest.A magnitude 6.3 shallow earthquake struck Mindanao, Philippines on August 5, with a depth of about 10 km — a shallow quake, which typically produces stronger surface shaking than a deeper one.
Verification note: Magnitude and depth from seismic observatory data. Casualty and damage figures have not been fully released officially — we don't cite unverified disaster-impact rumors.The Amakusa-Ashikita region of Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, was hit by a magnitude 6.8 earthquake on July 28 — the strongest quake within this issue's review period.
Verification note: For detailed impact and official response, check Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) and Kumamoto Prefecture announcements.As of this issue, the 2026 Pacific typhoon season has produced 8 tropical depressions, 6 storms, 1 typhoon, and 1 unofficial super typhoon. The strongest system so far is Typhoon Sinlaku, with a minimum central pressure of 905 hPa; season damages so far are estimated at over $483 million.
Verification note: The typhoon season entry is continuously updated; figures will shift as the season progresses. For live tracking and warnings, check your national meteorological authority (e.g. Taiwan CWA, Japan JMA, Philippines PAGASA).Typhoon Kujira and Typhoon Chan-hom both formed in the Northwest Pacific on August 5, bringing the year's total of named Northwest Pacific typhoons to 14 — activity running above the normal pace for this point in the season.
Verification note: Formation counts are from a continuously updated Wikipedia entry and weather-media reporting; for live tracks and intensity forecasts, check Taiwan CWA, Japan JMA, or Philippines PAGASA.Per observatory roundups, through early August the world has recorded 3 earthquakes of M6.0+, 37 of M5.0+, and 349 of M4.0+ — activity within a normal range for the period.
Verification note: These are continuously updated aggregate figures for overall activity levels only; for details on any individual quake, check USGS or the relevant local observatory's own report.A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck northeast of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, early on August 3, with a separate M5.3 quake northeast of Suez — tremors were felt across multiple Middle Eastern countries, among the stronger regional quakes of this period.
Verification note: Magnitude and location are from seismic observatory data; official damage figures have not been fully released, so we don't cite unverified impact rumors.The USGS recorded a magnitude 6.0 earthquake 82 km west of Sola, Vanuatu — the largest quake worldwide in that 24-hour observation window.
Verification note: Magnitude and location are from USGS observatory data; official local damage figures have not been fully released, so we don't cite unverified impact rumors.A magnitude 5.0 (M5.1 per some agencies) earthquake struck the Texas Panhandle at 5:21 a.m. on July 23, with an epicenter about 23 miles southeast of Spearman, Texas, and a shallow depth of roughly 3.4 miles. Per USGS data, it's the strongest quake to hit the region in over 100 years; shaking was felt as far as southern Oklahoma and New Mexico. No structural damage or injuries have been reported.
Verification note: Magnitude, location, and depth are from USGS data; "no damage or injuries reported" reflects the initial status at time of reporting — check official updates for any changes.A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck off Mexico's coast between July 20 and 21, one of the regional seismic events recorded during this period.
Verification note: Magnitude and location are from observatory data; no further official damage reports have been issued, so we don't cite unverified impact rumors.A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck Japan's Fuji region around 10:28 p.m. on June 26, registering a lower-6 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale in Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, and an upper-5 in Otsuki City — among the stronger regional quakes of this period.
Verification note: Magnitude and intensity are from Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) observatory data; official damage figures have not been fully released, so we don't cite unverified impact rumors.Northwestern Venezuela was struck by back-to-back earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 at 6:04 and 6:05 p.m. local time on June 24 — epicenters roughly 10 km apart, arriving just 39 seconds apart, a rare "earthquake doublet" in which two distinct quakes share nearly identical waveforms, hypocenters, and magnitudes. The quakes collapsed more than 250 structures, the strongest to hit Venezuela since a M7.7 quake in 1900. As of this issue's press time, official figures put the toll at at least 188 dead and 1,520 injured, with search-and-rescue ongoing and the toll expected to rise.
Verification note: Magnitude, location, and timing are from seismic observatory data; casualty figures reflect the official tally at press time and remain in flux — check Venezuela's latest official updates, and we'll refresh the number in our next issue.A magnitude 6.9 earthquake (per USGS) struck off the coast of Iwate Prefecture, Japan, on June 25 — coincidentally the same day as the Venezuela doublet, another notable seismic event in this period's global activity.
Verification note: Magnitude and location are from USGS data; for the official damage assessment, check Japan Meteorological Agency announcements.Per USGS's official weekly summary, 93 earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or greater were recorded worldwide during the week of June 19–26, including a M6.9 quake offshore Japan, a M5.6 quake in northern California, and a M6.3 quake 143 km east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia.
Verification note: Figures are from USGS's official weekly roundup; for details on any individual quake's impact, check the relevant local observatory or government announcement.A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck offshore of Sarangani province, Mindanao, Philippines at 7:37 a.m. local time on June 8, recorded by both the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) and the USGS, with an epicenter about 24 km southwest of Kablalan. The quake triggered a roughly 3-foot (about 1-meter) tsunami that reached Indonesia, Palau, and as far as southern Japan's coast in smaller waves. A landslide triggered in the town of Glan killed 13 villagers. Per official reports, the quake and its aftermath have killed at least 35 people and injured more than 200, most trapped in collapsed buildings.
Verification note: Magnitude, location, and tsunami warnings are from official PHIVOLCS and USGS data; casualty figures reflect the official tally at press time, with search-and-recovery still ongoing and numbers subject to change — check the Philippine government's latest updates; we don't cite unverified disaster-impact rumors.A magnitude-6.0 earthquake struck Hawaii's Big Island just before 10 p.m. local time on May 22, with the USGS recording the epicenter about 8 miles south of Hōnaunau-Nāpōʻopoʻo on the west flank of Mauna Loa at a depth of about 14 miles. South Kona saw notable damage: homes shaken off their foundations, cracked walls, broken windows, boulders blocking roads, collapsed stone walls, and localized power outages — with no life-threatening injuries reported.
Verification note: Magnitude, location, and depth are from official USGS data; damage details are from local outlet Big Island Now — for the latest recovery updates, check Hawaii state and county government announcements; we don't cite unverified disaster-impact rumors.Liujiang District in Liuzhou, Guangxi, China was struck by two earthquakes from the night of May 17 into May 18, with the USGS measuring magnitudes of Mw 5.0–5.2 and Mw 5.1–5.2 respectively (China Earthquake Administration assessed both at Mw 5.2), epicenters about 2km apart at roughly 10km depth. The first mainshock killed a married couple in a collapsed house and injured at least 5 others; the second caused one house to collapse and damaged several more, lightly injuring one person. Combined, the two quakes killed 2, injured 6, displaced over 7,000 people, and severely damaged or destroyed nearly 1,000 homes and buildings.