Two earthquakes occurred in Son La Province within half an hour

Residents of the northern Vietnamese province of Son La felt tremors on the morning of October 19, 2026. Within less than half an hour, two earthquakes with magnitudes of 2.6 and 4.2 occurred in the region, recorded by the national seismic monitoring system.

The first earthquake occurred at 06:35 local time. Its magnitude was 2.6. The second, stronger tremor was recorded at 06:59 — about 24 minutes later. Its magnitude reached 4.2.

The epicenters of both earthquakes were located in Ta Hoc (Tà Hộc) commune in Son La Province. The hypocenters lay at a depth of about 12 kilometers.

According to local residents, the shaking was felt in several settlements. People reported noticeable shaking of buildings and objects inside homes. In one case, a large rock fell onto a residential house, causing property damage.

Despite the noticeable tremors, the natural hazard level of both earthquakes was assessed as 0. This assessment indicates a low level of expected danger according to the scale used by Vietnamese specialists, but does not rule out isolated local damage.

The Earthquake Information and Tsunami Warning Center continues to monitor seismic activity in the area of the incident. Specialists are tracking possible aftershocks and analyzing incoming data.

Northwestern Vietnam is one of the country’s seismically active regions. Earthquakes here are associated with geological faults running through the region’s mountainous areas.

Residents of areas where the tremors were felt are advised to check the condition of buildings and avoid staying near damaged structures and unstable slopes. In the event of repeated earthquakes, it is important to stay away from windows, heavy objects, and potentially dangerous structures.

Source: https://www.vietnam.vn/ru/dong-dat-tai-son-la-gay-thiet-hai-toi-tai-san-cua-nguoi-dan