M5.7 Earthquake 52 km N of Āwash, Ethiopia — January 4, 2025
2025-01-04 00:52:21 UTC (2025-01-04) · approx. 3:52 AM UTC+3 local
Felt by 211 people across surrounding communities. Maximum shaking intensity MMI 8.4 (violent).
On January 4, 2025 at 00:52 UTC, a magnitude 5.7 shallow crustal earthquake struck 52 km N of Āwash, Ethiopia, at a depth of 8.0 km and coordinates 9.4591°, 40.1219°. The earthquake was reported felt by 211 peopleacross surrounding communities, with a maximum shaking intensity of Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) 8.4 (violent). The USGS PAGER system issued a green alert level for this event, indicating no significant casualties or damage expected. This earthquake was detected by 112 seismic stations with excellent location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 671, making it a moderate-impact event. The nearest populated place is Awash (population 11,415).
Physical scale: An earthquake of magnitude 5.7 releases seismic energy equivalent to roughly 5 kilotons of TNT. Empirical fault-scaling laws (Wells & Coppersmith, 1994) estimate the subsurface rupture length at approximately 5.2 km — a useful intuition for the size of the slip patch on the fault.
Nearest Populated Places
What the Shaking Felt Like
At MMI 8.4 (violent), people in the most strongly affected areas would have experienced: Severe shaking causing considerable damage. Buildings may shift off foundations. Walls crack and may partially collapse. Heavy furniture overturned.
ShakeMap — predicted shaking intensity
Modeled ground-motion intensity contoured on the Modified Mercalli scale (MMI). Computed by the USGS from the moment-tensor solution and regional ground-motion prediction equations.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey ShakeMap. View interactive ShakeMap on USGS
Did You Feel It? — community-reported shaking
Aggregated felt-report intensity from 211 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
Population exposure (USGS PAGER)
Estimated population that experienced each level of shaking. Based on the USGS PAGER rapid impact assessment, which combines ShakeMap output with global population grids.
| Shaking intensity (MMI) | Description | Population exposed |
|---|---|---|
| MMI 3 | weak | 21,933,571 |
| MMI 4 | light | 13,872,373 |
| MMI 5 | moderate | 39,163 |
| MMI 6 | strong | 24,578 |
| MMI 7 | very strong | 16,610 |
| MMI 8 | severe | 3,310 |
Earthquake Details
40.1219°E
Technical Information
Common Questions
How strong was the magnitude 5.7 earthquake near Āwash, Ethiopia?
The magnitude 5.7 earthquake that struck 52 km N of Āwash, Ethiopia on January 4, 2025 at 00:52 UTC had a depth of 8.0 km. It was felt by 211 people with maximum shaking intensity of MMI 8.4 (violent). For context, this was a moderate earthquake that could be widely felt.
Where did the earthquake occur?
The earthquake epicenter was located at 9.4591°, 40.1219°, which is 52 km N of Āwash, Ethiopia. The nearest populated place is Awash (population 11,415).
Were there aftershocks?
Aftershock activity is monitored continuously by the USGS. Aftershock sequences from magnitude 5.7 earthquakes can continue for days to weeks and gradually diminish over time.
Authoritative source: USGS event page (event ID: us6000phrk). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.
Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2025, January 4, 2025). M5.7 Earthquake 52 km N of Āwash, Ethiopia — January 4, 2025. Retrieved March 17, 2025 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us6000phrk/