M6.0 Earthquake south of Africa — June 18, 2023
2023-06-18 21:59:17 UTC (2023-06-18) · approx. 11:59 PM UTC+2 local
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On June 18, 2023 at 21:59 UTC, a magnitude 6.0 shallow crustal earthquake struck south of Africa, at a depth of 8.0 km and coordinates -48.6733°, 31.1318°. The USGS PAGER system issued a green alert level for this event, indicating no significant casualties or damage expected. This earthquake was detected by 203 seismic stations with excellent location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 554, placing it among routine seismic activity.
Physical scale: An earthquake of magnitude 6.0 releases seismic energy equivalent to roughly 15 kilotons of TNT. Empirical fault-scaling laws (Wells & Coppersmith, 1994) estimate the subsurface rupture length at approximately 8.3 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
31.1318°E
Technical Information
Common Questions
How strong was the magnitude 6.0 earthquake south of Africa?
The magnitude 6.0 earthquake that struck south of Africa on June 18, 2023 at 21:59 UTC had a depth of 8.0 km. For context, this was a strong earthquake capable of causing significant damage.
Where did the earthquake occur?
The earthquake epicenter was located at -48.6733°, 31.1318°, which is south of Africa.
Were there aftershocks?
Aftershock activity is monitored continuously by the USGS. Aftershock sequences from magnitude 6.0 earthquakes can continue for weeks to months and gradually diminish over time.
Actions
Authoritative source: USGS event page (event ID: us7000k9fi). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.
Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2023, June 18, 2023). M6.0 Earthquake south of Africa — June 18, 2023. Retrieved August 26, 2023 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us7000k9fi/