Elevated seismic activity along the Pacific Ring of Fire, including a magnitude 7.4 event near Colombia on August 13 and additional magnitude 5.5+ quakes in Indonesia, Alaska, and other plate-boundary zones, drove the USGS weekly count of magnitude 5.5 or greater earthquakes well above 13 for August 10–16. Global baselines average roughly 8–15 such events per week, with substantial variance tied to aftershock sequences and tectonic clusters, but confirmed observations during this window produced strong trader consensus around the >13 outcome. New model runs or catalog revisions could theoretically alter marginal counts, though official USGS tallies make that outcome highly improbable here.