5.3

M5.3 Earthquake south of Africa — August 14, 2022

2022-08-14 09:49:30 UTC (2022-08-14) · approx. 10:49 AM UTC+1 local

Felt by 1 person across nearby locations.

MagnitudeM5.3(mww)
Time09:49 UTC≈ 10:49 AM UTC+1
Depth10.0 kmshallow crustal
Coordinates-52.874°, 22.155°
Felt by1DYFI response
Status✓ Reviewed by USGS

On August 14, 2022 at 09:49 UTC, a magnitude 5.3 shallow crustal earthquake struck south of Africa, at a depth of 10.0 km and coordinates -52.8736°, 22.1555°. This earthquake was detected by 59 seismic stations with excellent location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 432, placing it among routine seismic activity.

Physical scale: An earthquake of magnitude 5.3 releases seismic energy equivalent to roughly 1 kilotons of TNT. Empirical fault-scaling laws (Wells & Coppersmith, 1994) estimate the subsurface rupture length at approximately 2.7 km — a useful intuition for the size of the slip patch on the fault.

Map showing earthquake epicenter at -52.87°, 22.16°

Did You Feel It? — community-reported shaking

Aggregated felt-report intensity from 1 citizen response to the USGS Did You Feel It? system. Each colored zone represents the average MMI from reports in that area.

USGS DYFI community-reported intensity map for the M5.3 earthquake near south of Africa

Source: U.S. Geological Survey Did You Feel It?. View on USGS · submit your own report

Earthquake Details

Magnitude
5.3 mww
Depth
10.0 km
shallow crustal
Location
-52.8736°N
22.1555°E
Felt Reports
1
DYFI responses
Community Intensity
2.7
CDI from reports

Technical Information

Event ID
us6000iaqz
Event Type
earthquake
Status
✓ Reviewed
Significance
432
Stations Used
59
Azimuthal Gap
56.0°
Min Station Distance
19.822°
RMS Residual
0.48 sec
Last Updated
2022-10-28 02:25:52 UTC

Common Questions

How strong was the magnitude 5.3 earthquake south of Africa?

The magnitude 5.3 earthquake that struck south of Africa on August 14, 2022 at 09:49 UTC had a depth of 10.0 km. For context, this was a moderate earthquake that could be widely felt.

Where did the earthquake occur?

The earthquake epicenter was located at -52.8736°, 22.1555°, which is south of Africa.

Were there aftershocks?

Aftershock activity is monitored continuously by the USGS. Aftershock sequences from magnitude 5.3 earthquakes can continue for days to weeks and gradually diminish over time.

Actions

View on USGSDid You Feel It?

Authoritative source: USGS event page (event ID: us6000iaqz). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.

Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2022, August 14, 2022). M5.3 Earthquake south of Africa — August 14, 2022. Retrieved October 28, 2022 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us6000iaqz/