M5.4 Earthquake 27 km SSE of Obock, Djibouti — January 25, 2024
2024-01-25 17:00:43 UTC (2024-01-25) · approx. 8:00 PM UTC+3 local
Felt by 12 people across nearby locations. Maximum shaking intensity MMI 4.4 (moderate).
On January 25, 2024 at 17:00 UTC, a magnitude 5.4 shallow crustal earthquake struck 27 km SSE of Obock, Djibouti, at a depth of 10.0 km and coordinates 11.7346°, 43.3724°. The earthquake was reported felt by 12 peopleacross nearby locations, with a maximum shaking intensity of Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) 4.4 (moderate). The USGS PAGER system issued a green alert level for this event, indicating no significant casualties or damage expected. This earthquake was detected by 105 seismic stations with excellent location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 454, placing it among routine seismic activity. The nearest populated place is Obock (population 17,776).
Physical scale: An earthquake of magnitude 5.4 releases seismic energy equivalent to roughly 2 kilotons of TNT. Empirical fault-scaling laws (Wells & Coppersmith, 1994) estimate the subsurface rupture length at approximately 3.2 km — a useful intuition for the size of the slip patch on the fault.
Nearest Populated Places
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
Did You Feel It? — community-reported shaking
Aggregated felt-report intensity from 12 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
Population exposure (USGS PAGER)
Estimated population that experienced each level of shaking. Based on the USGS PAGER rapid impact assessment, which combines ShakeMap output with global population grids.
| Shaking intensity (MMI) | Description | Population exposed |
|---|---|---|
| MMI 3 | weak | 2,148,942 |
| MMI 4 | light | 667,968 |
| MMI 5 | moderate | 19 |
Earthquake Details
43.3724°E
Technical Information
Common Questions
How strong was the magnitude 5.4 earthquake near Obock, Djibouti?
The magnitude 5.4 earthquake that struck 27 km SSE of Obock, Djibouti on January 25, 2024 at 17:00 UTC had a depth of 10.0 km. It was felt by 12 people with maximum shaking intensity of MMI 4.4 (moderate). For context, this was a moderate earthquake that could be widely felt.
Where did the earthquake occur?
The earthquake epicenter was located at 11.7346°, 43.3724°, which is 27 km SSE of Obock, Djibouti. The nearest populated place is Obock (population 17,776).
Were there aftershocks?
Aftershock activity is monitored continuously by the USGS. Aftershock sequences from magnitude 5.4 earthquakes can continue for days to weeks and gradually diminish over time.
Actions
Authoritative source: USGS event page (event ID: us7000lts5). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.
Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2024, January 25, 2024). M5.4 Earthquake 27 km SSE of Obock, Djibouti — January 25, 2024. Retrieved May 22, 2024 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us7000lts5/