Earth Changes · Daily Report · October 31, 2026, 6:30 AM CDT
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Bonin Islands, Japan region at 2:09 a.m. UTC on Oct. 25, about 492 km (≈306 miles) below the surface, the U.S. Geological Survey reports[1]. The USGS PAGER system rates the expected impact GREEN. USGS flags it as an ocean-area quake, so check tsunami.gov for any official tsunami message. It is the strongest earthquake tracked by the USGS this week, with active aftershocks continuing across the region.
Meanwhile, the National Weather Service has 29 severe or extreme alerts in effect, led by 12 flood watches across AZ, CO, NM, UT.[2]
Elsewhere, Great Sitkin volcano is at alert level WATCH (aviation color code ORANGE), the Alaska Volcano Observatory says. Its latest update: “Slow eruption of lava continues within the summit crater associated with low-level seismicity.”[3]
Today at a Glance
- 11 earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or greater, the largest M4.9
- 29 severe or extreme U.S. weather alerts
- 4 U.S. volcanoes above normal, including Great Sitkin
- 1 sinkhole report in the news
Where It’s Happening
Numbered pins match the list under the map. Storm and quake pins are the agencies' reported centers; sinkhole pins mark the town named in the report. Map data: OpenStreetMap contributors.
1. Extreme Weather
The National Hurricane Center is tracking no active tropical storms.[4]
Across the United States, the National Weather Service has 29 alerts rated severe or extreme in effect.[2]
| Alert | Number | States |
|---|---|---|
| Flood Watch | 12 | AZ, CO, NM, UT |
| Storm Warning | 6 | PK |
| Flood Warning | 3 | AZ, FL |
| Winter Storm Watch | 3 | CO, NV |
| Coastal Flood Warning | 2 | FL |
| Freeze Warning | 2 | WA |
| Winter Storm Warning | 1 | AK |
The Storm Prediction Center says no severe thunderstorm areas are forecast today.[5]
Around the world, GDACS logged 77 wildfire, 3 flood, 1 earthquake notices in the past two days, all at its lowest (Green) level.[6]
Official Telegram video: Russia's Emergencies Ministry (MChS), official Telegram channel, October 30, 2026 — “В снежном плену Зимний отдых в горах может быстро превратиться в опасную ситуацию, если пренебречь правилами безопасности. Катание вне оборудованных трасс, выход на лавиноопасные склоны и игнорирование предупреждающих зн” Topic: severe storm. Caption in Russian. Picked by hazard keywords in the channel’s own caption. Telegram only plays this file in its app: use the button above.
2. Earthquakes
The USGS recorded 11 earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or greater in the past 24 hours.[7] The strongest:
| Mag. | Where | When | Depth | PAGER |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.9 | 236 km NW of Port-Olry, Vanuatu | Oct. 31, 9:18 a.m. UTC | 10 km | — |
| 4.9 | 213 km W of Sola, Vanuatu | Oct. 31, 9:15 a.m. UTC | 10 km | — |
| 4.8 | 97 km ENE of Port-Olry, Vanuatu | Oct. 31, 12:26 a.m. UTC | 10 km | — |
| 4.7 | 222 km NW of Port-Olry, Vanuatu | Oct. 30, 10:14 p.m. UTC | 10 km | — |
| 4.6 | Izu Islands, Japan region | Oct. 31, 3:14 a.m. UTC | 10 km | — |
| 4.6 | 33 km NE of Mazo Cruz, Peru | Oct. 30, 10:46 p.m. UTC | 195 km | — |
| 4.6 | 7 km NE of Tago, Philippines | Oct. 30, 5:06 p.m. UTC | 10 km | — |
| 4.5 | central Mid-Atlantic Ridge | Oct. 31, 2:37 a.m. UTC | 10 km | — |
PAGER is the USGS estimate of likely deaths and damage: GREEN means little or none expected, RED means extensive. A dash means none was issued.
Earlier this week: The USGS is also continuing to monitor ongoing aftershocks and impacts from significant earthquakes recorded over the past seven days:[8]
| Mag. | Where | When | Depth | PAGER |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6.5 | Bonin Islands, Japan region | Oct. 25, 2:09 a.m. UTC | 492 km | GREEN |
3. Volcanoes
In the United States, 4 volcanoes are above normal background activity, according to the U.S. Geological Survey’s observatories:
| Volcano | Alert / aviation code | Latest word from scientists |
|---|---|---|
| Great Sitkin | Watch / Orange | Slow eruption of lava continues within the summit crater associated with low-level seismicity.[3] |
| Ahyi Seamount | Advisory / Yellow | No signs of unrest in satellite data; no significant geophysical signals.[9] |
| Kilauea | Advisory / Yellow | The Halema'uma'u eruption of Kīlauea remains paused following episode 55 on October 17. The forecast for episode 56 fountaining has been pushed to Nov. 2-9, 2026.[10] |
| Shishaldin | Advisory / Yellow | Unrest continues with small earthquakes, tremor, and steam emissions.[3] |
Alert levels run Normal, Advisory, Watch, Warning. Aviation codes run Green, Yellow, Orange, Red.
4. Sinkholes
No government agency publishes a live national sinkhole feed, so these come from today’s local news:
- Phong Nha: VnExpress International reports, “The tour operator developed a zipline system crossing the sinkhole, which it put into operation in 2025.”[11]
Also in the News
Other natural-hazard video from the past day, from news organizations:
Video: AccuWeather, October 30, 2026 — “Severe Storms Return to the Plains: Here's Where the Danger Is”. Also in the news. Picked because its title names a natural hazard; it may not be covered in the data above.
Video: AccuWeather, October 30, 2026 — “Ash plume towers over Philippine volcano”. Also in the news.
5. What the Experts Say
These are the words of the scientists and forecasters who watch these hazards for a living, quoted exactly.
“Severe thunderstorms are not forecast across the U.S. today or tonight.”
— NOAA Storm Prediction Center[5]
“The Philippine Sea plate is bordered by the larger Pacific and Eurasia plates and the smaller Sunda plate. The Philippine Sea plate is unusual in that its borders are nearly all zones of plate convergence. The Pacific plate is subducted into the mantle, south of Japan, beneath the Izu-Bonin and Mariana island arcs, which extend more than 3,000 km along the eastern margin of the Philippine Sea plate.”
— U.S. Geological Survey, “Seismotectonics of the Philippine Sea and Vicinity,” on the region around the M4.9 quake[12]
“Minor growth of the active lava dome within the summit crater was observed in satellite imagery over the past week. The south flank of the dome is moving slowly southward and generating occasional small rockfalls. While clouds obscured most satellite views of the volcano, minor steaming from the lava dome was observed in clear webcam views.”
— Alaska Volcano Observatory, on Great Sitkin[3]
“Small plumes of discolored water were seen in the ocean above Ahyi on October 16 and 21 this past week. Discolored greenish water was visible drifting several hundred meters from the summit of Ahyi. These plumes are likely associated with degassing and hydrothermal activity at the summit of the underwater volcano.”
— Northern Mariana Islands, on Ahyi Seamount[9]
“Sinkholes are common where the rock below the land surface is limestone, carbonate rock, salt beds, or other rocks that can naturally be dissolved by groundwater circulating through them. As the rock dissolves, spaces and caverns develop underground. Sinkholes are dramatic because the land usually stays intact for a while until the underground spaces just get too big.”
— U.S. Geological Survey Water Science School, on why sinkholes form[13]
How to Prepare
- Keep a basic kit: water (one gallon per person per day for several days), food, a battery or hand-crank radio, a whistle, a dust mask and phone chargers.[14]
- Get alerts: Wireless Emergency Alerts need no sign-up; the FEMA app, NOAA Weather Radio, the USGS Earthquake Notification Service and the USGS Volcano Notification Service are free.
- Floods: Turn Around, Don’t Drown. Six inches of moving water can knock you down, and one foot can sweep a car away.[15]
- Earthquakes: Drop, Cover and Hold On.[16]
- Download the checklist: Be Ready: Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Extreme Weather and Sinkholes (PDF), with today’s active hazards first.
How to Verify This Yourself
- Earthquakes: USGS Latest Earthquakes map
- U.S. volcanoes: USGS Volcano Hazards Program; world: Smithsonian weekly report
- Weather alerts: weather.gov/alerts; tropics: nhc.noaa.gov
- Worldwide disasters: gdacs.org
References
- USGS, M6.5 Bonin Islands, Japan region event page earthquake.usgs.gov. ↩
- National Weather Service, active alerts API api.weather.gov. ↩
- Alaska Volcano Observatory, Great Sitkin notice volcanoes.usgs.gov. ↩
- National Hurricane Center, active storms data nhc.noaa.gov. ↩
- NOAA Storm Prediction Center, Day 1 Convective Outlook spc.noaa.gov. ↩
- GDACS, Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System gdacs.org. ↩
- USGS, M4.5+ earthquakes, past day (real-time feed) earthquake.usgs.gov. ↩
- USGS, Significant earthquakes past week (real-time feed) earthquake.usgs.gov. ↩
- Northern Mariana Islands, Ahyi Seamount notice volcanoes.usgs.gov. ↩
- Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, Kilauea notice volcanoes.usgs.gov. ↩
- VnExpress International, Inside giant sinkholes open to tourists in Phong Nha e.vnexpress.net. ↩
- USGS Geoserve, tectonic summary earthquake.usgs.gov. ↩
- USGS Water Science School, Sinkholes usgs.gov. ↩
- Ready.gov (FEMA), Build a Kit ready.gov. ↩
- Ready.gov (FEMA), Floods ready.gov. ↩
- Ready.gov (FEMA), Earthquakes ready.gov. ↩
Methodology: this report is assembled automatically each morning from the live data feeds of the USGS, the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program, the National Weather Service, the National Hurricane Center, the Storm Prediction Center and GDACS, plus same-day news reports for sinkholes. No AI writes it: the sentences are fixed templates filled with that data, and every quote is copied exactly from the source it is credited to. Data can change after publication; follow the links for the latest.
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