Residents of Chocó, a department on Colombia’s Pacific coast, woke up to a shaky night after the Colombian Geological Service (SGC) recorded six separate earthquakes between midnight and just after 4 a.m. on Tuesday, September 15, 2026.
According to a bulletin the agency shared on its official X account, the tremors ranged in magnitude from 2.2 to 3.4 and were centered mainly around the towns of Istmina and El Carmen del Darién. Depths varied widely: some quakes struck at shallow levels near the surface, while others originated as deep as 42 kilometers (about 26 miles) below ground. One of the tremors was even traced to an epicenter far out in the Pacific Ocean, roughly 119 kilometers (74 miles) from the coastal town of El Litoral del San Juan.
Several residents took to social media to confirm they had felt the ground shake, though no reports of injuries or damage have emerged so far.
Colombia sits along a seismically active zone shaped by the collision of tectonic plates, making small to moderate earthquakes fairly common, especially in Pacific coastal regions like Chocó. Authorities continue to monitor the area for any further activity.
The article also outlines how Colombian smartphone users can enable Google’s free ShakeAlert earthquake alert system through their phone’s safety settings, and reminds families to keep an emergency plan in place in case of seismic events.
You can read the full original report, including a live timeline of each tremor, at El Tiempo.
Source: Temblor hoy en Colombia | Reportan seguidilla de sismos en Chocó durante madrugada de este martes 15 de septiembre (eltiempo.com). English version produced with AI assistance.
Image: James St. John, BY 2.0 (via Openverse).