M5.3 Earthquake southwest of Africa — August 29, 2021
2021-08-29 04:01:17 UTC (2021-08-29) · approx. 5:01 AM UTC+1 local
Felt by 1 person across nearby locations.
On August 29, 2021 at 04:01 UTC, a magnitude 5.3 shallow crustal earthquake struck southwest of Africa, at a depth of 10.0 km and coordinates -52.3044°, 13.6767°.
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.
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.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey Did You Feel It?. View on USGS · submit your own report
Earthquake Details
13.6767°E
Technical Information
Common Questions
How strong was the magnitude 5.3 earthquake southwest of Africa?
The magnitude 5.3 earthquake that struck southwest of Africa on August 29, 2021 at 04:01 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 -52.3044°, 13.6767°, which is southwest 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
Authoritative source: USGS event page (event ID: us7000f5d7). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.
Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2021, August 29, 2021). M5.3 Earthquake southwest of Africa — August 29, 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2025 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us7000f5d7/