M5.3 Earthquake south of Africa — September 17, 2022
2022-09-17 05:25:55 UTC (2022-09-17) · approx. 7:25 AM UTC+2 local
Felt by 2 people across nearby locations.
On September 17, 2022 at 05:25 UTC, a magnitude 5.3 shallow crustal earthquake struck south of Africa, at a depth of 10.0 km and coordinates -52.7489°, 25.6935°. This earthquake was detected by 43 seismic stations with excellent location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 433, 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.
Did You Feel It? — community-reported shaking
Aggregated felt-report intensity from 2 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
Earthquake Details
25.6935°E
Technical Information
Common Questions
How strong was the magnitude 5.3 earthquake south of Africa?
The magnitude 5.3 earthquake that struck south of Africa on September 17, 2022 at 05:25 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 -52.7489°, 25.6935°, which is south 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: us7000i8re). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.
Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2022, September 17, 2022). M5.3 Earthquake south of Africa — September 17, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2022 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us7000i8re/