5.3

M5.3 Earthquake near Cape Verde — January 26, 2023

2023-01-26 04:16:05 UTC (2023-01-26) · approx. 2:16 AM UTC-2 local

Felt by 13 people across nearby locations.

MagnitudeM5.3(mb)
Time04:16 UTC≈ 2:16 AM UTC-2
Depth10.0 kmshallow crustal
Coordinates16.615°, -25.619°
Felt by13DYFI responses
Status✓ Reviewed by USGS

On January 26, 2023 at 04:16 UTC, a magnitude 5.3 shallow crustal earthquake struck near Cape Verde, at a depth of 10.0 km and coordinates 16.6149°, -25.6191°. This earthquake was detected by 89 seismic stations with excellent location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 437, 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 16.61°, -25.62°

Did You Feel It? — community-reported shaking

Aggregated felt-report intensity from 13 citizen responses 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 Cape Verde

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

Earthquake Details

Magnitude
5.3 mb
Depth
10.0 km
shallow crustal
Location
16.6149°N
-25.6191°E
Felt Reports
13
DYFI responses
Community Intensity
3.8
CDI from reports

Technical Information

Event ID
us6000jjbh
Event Type
earthquake
Status
✓ Reviewed
Significance
437
Stations Used
89
Azimuthal Gap
31.0°
Min Station Distance
9.078°
RMS Residual
0.66 sec
Last Updated
2023-04-11 18:51:33 UTC

Common Questions

How strong was the magnitude 5.3 earthquake near Cape Verde?

The magnitude 5.3 earthquake that struck near Cape Verde on January 26, 2023 at 04:16 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 16.6149°, -25.6191°, which is near Cape Verde.

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: us6000jjbh). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.

Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2023, January 26, 2023). M5.3 Earthquake near Cape Verde — January 26, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us6000jjbh/