QuakeScout
Magnitude2.6

Reported by EMSC18d ago

M2.6 earthquake in Albania

Tuesday, September 8, 2026, 03:48:57 UTC · 40.750°N, 20.770°E

A magnitude 2.6 earthquake struck in Albania on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, 03:48:57 UTC, at a depth of 5.0 km (shallow).

Magnitude
2.6
Minor · ml
Depth
5 km
Shallow
Reported by
EMSC
Agency EMSC
Nearest tracker
42 km
from Ohrid

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

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

120 kg of TNT

That is about 1/125,702 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 3,981 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

253 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Aegean Sea and Eurasian 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 19 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km since this event; the largest was M2.9 on September 24, 2026. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M31h6h1d3d7d14dMainshock M2.6
Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.
  1. 2.0Albania1d ago · 9 km N of this epicenter
  2. 2.8Greece1d ago · 33 km E of this epicenter
  3. 2.9Greece2d ago · 34 km E of this epicenter
  4. 2.1Albania2d ago · 31 km S of this epicenter
  5. 2.5Albania4d ago · 15 km S of this epicenter
  6. 2.7Albania5d ago · 12 km SE of this epicenter
  7. 2.0Albania5d ago · 14 km NE of this epicenter
  8. 2.0Albania6d ago · 48 km W of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 474 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 · 236 km NE of this epicenter
  2. 6.96 km E of Stari Bar, MontenegroApril 15, 1979 · 198 km NW of this epicenter
  3. 6.97 km NNE of Ágios Nikólaos, GreeceSeptember 26, 1932 · 256 km E of this epicenter
  4. 6.86 km W of Stara Kresna, BulgariaApril 4, 1904 · 228 km NE of this epicenter
  5. 6.815 km ENE of Póros, GreeceAugust 12, 1953 · 286 km S of this epicenter
  6. 6.86 km SW of Galaxídhion, GreeceMarch 31, 1965 · 299 km SE of this epicenter
  7. 6.76 km NW of Lukovo, North MacedoniaNovember 30, 1967 · 73 km N of this epicenter
  8. 6.77 km NE of Anávra, GreeceApril 30, 1954 · 207 km SE of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 162 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 6,350 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1851M6.6

    Vlore (Valona),Berat; Turkey

    12 Oct 1851 · 94 km away · intensity XI

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

  2. 1963M6.0

    Macedonia: Skopje

    26 Jul 1963 · 156 km away · intensity X

    1,070 deaths$1.0 billion damage

  3. 1953M7.2

    Lixouri-Argostoli (Kephallenia)

    12 Aug 1953 · 272 km away · intensity X

    476 deaths$100 million damagetsunami

  4. 1851

    Berat

    17 Oct 1851 · 94 km away · intensity X

    400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  5. 1767M6.7

    Kefalonia

    11 Jul 1767 · 277 km away · intensity X

    303 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  6. 1867M7.2

    Cephalonia

    4 Feb 1867 · 281 km away · intensity X

    223 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

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

Nearby trackers

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