M5.3 Earthquake near Southwest Indian Ridge — November 23, 2021
2021-11-23 20:48:28 UTC (2021-11-23) · approx. 12:48 AM UTC+4 local
0
On November 23, 2021 at 20:48 UTC, a magnitude 5.3 shallow crustal earthquake struck near Southwest Indian Ridge, at a depth of 10.0 km and coordinates -34.0022°, 55.7965°. The USGS PAGER system issued a green alert level for this event, indicating no significant casualties or damage expected.
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.
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
Earthquake Details
55.7965°E
Technical Information
Common Questions
How strong was the magnitude 5.3 earthquake near Southwest Indian Ridge?
The magnitude 5.3 earthquake that struck near Southwest Indian Ridge on November 23, 2021 at 20:48 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 -34.0022°, 55.7965°, which is near Southwest Indian Ridge.
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
Location
Authoritative source: USGS event page (event ID: us7000fwja). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.
Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2021, November 23, 2021). M5.3 Earthquake near Southwest Indian Ridge — November 23, 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2025 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us7000fwja/