M4.5 Earthquake southwest of Africa — May 25, 2022
2022-05-25 17:00:06 UTC (2022-05-25) · approx. 6:00 PM UTC+1 local
On May 25, 2022 at 17:00 UTC, a magnitude 4.5 shallow crustal earthquake struck southwest of Africa, at a depth of 10.0 km and coordinates -52.2182°, 14.1949°. This earthquake was detected by 21 seismic stations with excellent location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 312, placing it among routine seismic activity.
Physical scale: An earthquake of magnitude 4.5 releases seismic energy equivalent to roughly 85 metric tons of TNT. Empirical fault-scaling laws (Wells & Coppersmith, 1994) estimate the subsurface rupture length at approximately 767 m — a useful intuition for the size of the slip patch on the fault.
Earthquake Details
14.1949°E
Technical Information
Common Questions
How strong was the magnitude 4.5 earthquake southwest of Africa?
The magnitude 4.5 earthquake that struck southwest of Africa on May 25, 2022 at 17:00 UTC had a depth of 10.0 km. For context, this was a light earthquake commonly felt near the epicenter.
Where did the earthquake occur?
The earthquake epicenter was located at -52.2182°, 14.1949°, which is southwest of Africa.
Were there aftershocks?
Aftershock activity is monitored continuously by the USGS. Aftershock sequences from magnitude 4.5 earthquakes can continue for several days and gradually diminish over time.
Actions
Authoritative source: USGS event page (event ID: us7000hdm8). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.
Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2022, May 25, 2022). M4.5 Earthquake southwest of Africa — May 25, 2022. Retrieved August 2, 2022 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us7000hdm8/