QuakeScout
Magnitude2.8

Reported by EMSC22d ago

M2.8 earthquake in Albania

Friday, September 4, 2026, 19:23:20 UTC · 41.040°N, 20.130°E

A magnitude 2.8 earthquake struck in Albania on Friday, September 4, 2026, 19:23:20 UTC, at a depth of 5.0 km (shallow).

Magnitude
2.8
Minor · ml
Depth
5 km
Shallow
Reported by
EMSC
Agency EMSC
Nearest tracker
41 km
from Tirana

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

239 kg of TNT

That is about 1/63,000 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 1,995 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

274 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Eurasian and African plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.

Depth: shallow

5 km

Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.

After the main event

Aftershocks within 50 km

USGS and EMSC list 8 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km since this event; the largest was M2.5 on September 16, 2026. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M31h6h1d3d7d14dMainshock M2.8
Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.
  1. 2.1Albania1d ago · 18 km W of this epicenter
  2. 2.2Albania1d ago · 11 km W of this epicenter
  3. 2.0Albania6d ago · 27 km S of this epicenter
  4. 2.1Albania9d ago · 28 km W of this epicenter
  5. 2.5Albania10d ago · 15 km NW of this epicenter
  6. 2.2Albania14d ago · 20 km E of this epicenter
  7. 2.0Albania14d ago · 23 km E of this epicenter
  8. 2.5Albania21d ago · 35 km W of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 363 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.07 km SE of Stara Kresna, BulgariaApril 4, 1904 · 272 km E of this epicenter
  2. 6.96 km E of Stari Bar, MontenegroApril 15, 1979 · 140 km NW of this epicenter
  3. 6.86 km W of Stara Kresna, BulgariaApril 4, 1904 · 262 km E of this epicenter
  4. 6.76 km NW of Lukovo, North MacedoniaNovember 30, 1967 · 52 km NE of this epicenter
  5. 6.77 km NE of Anávra, GreeceApril 30, 1954 · 265 km SE of this epicenter
  6. 6.73 km SW of Kuklis, North MacedoniaMarch 8, 1931 · 214 km E of this epicenter
  7. 6.635 km NW of Itháki, GreeceApril 22, 1948 · 275 km S of this epicenter
  8. 6.617 km NNW of Bilisht, AlbaniaFebruary 18, 1911 · 71 km SE of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 129 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 4,908 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1851M6.6

    Vlore (Valona),Berat; Turkey

    12 Oct 1851 · 70 km away · intensity XI

    2,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami

  2. 1963M6.0

    Macedonia: Skopje

    26 Jul 1963 · 153 km away · intensity X

    1,070 deaths$1.0 billion damage

  3. 1851

    Berat

    17 Oct 1851 · 70 km away · intensity X

    400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  4. 1920M6.2

    Tepelene, Dragoti, Peshtani, Maricaj

    26 Nov 1920 · 94 km away · intensity XI

    200 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  5. 1979M6.9

    Montenegro

    15 Apr 1979 · 140 km away · intensity IX

    131 deaths$2.7 billion damagetsunami

  6. 1905M6.6

    Shkoder

    1 Jun 1905 · 126 km away · intensity X

    120 deaths$24 million damage

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers

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