M4.8 Earthquake 14 km E of Orkney, South Africa — July 17, 2022
2022-07-17 09:19:30 UTC (2022-07-17) · approx. 11:19 AM UTC+2 local
Felt by 11 people across nearby locations.
On July 17, 2022 at 09:19 UTC, a magnitude 4.8 shallow crustal earthquake struck 14 km E of Orkney, South Africa, at a depth of 5.0 km and coordinates -26.9846°, 26.8165°. This earthquake was detected by 38 seismic stations with good location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 359, placing it among routine seismic activity.
Physical scale: An earthquake of magnitude 4.8 releases seismic energy equivalent to roughly 239 metric tons of TNT. Empirical fault-scaling laws (Wells & Coppersmith, 1994) estimate the subsurface rupture length at approximately 1.2 km — a useful intuition for the size of the slip patch on the fault.
Did You Feel It? — community-reported shaking
Aggregated felt-report intensity from 11 citizen responses to the USGS Did You Feel It? system. Each colored zone represents the average MMI from reports in that area.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey Did You Feel It?. View on USGS · submit your own report
Earthquake Details
26.8165°E
Technical Information
Common Questions
How strong was the magnitude 4.8 earthquake near Orkney, South Africa?
The magnitude 4.8 earthquake that struck 14 km E of Orkney, South Africa on July 17, 2022 at 09:19 UTC had a depth of 5.0 km. For context, this was a light earthquake commonly felt near the epicenter.
Where did the earthquake occur?
The earthquake epicenter was located at -26.9846°, 26.8165°, which is 14 km E of Orkney, South Africa.
Were there aftershocks?
Aftershock activity is monitored continuously by the USGS. Aftershock sequences from magnitude 4.8 earthquakes can continue for several days and gradually diminish over time.
Authoritative source: USGS event page (event ID: us6000i37b). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.
Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2022, July 17, 2022). M4.8 Earthquake 14 km E of Orkney, South Africa — July 17, 2022. Retrieved September 27, 2022 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us6000i37b/