Reported by EMSC15d ago
M2.9 earthquake in South Africa
Saturday, September 12, 2026, 15:08:03 UTC · 25.876°S, 29.085°E
A magnitude 2.9 earthquake struck in South Africa on Saturday, September 12, 2026, 15:08:03 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 2.9
- Minor · m
- Depth
- 10 km
- Shallow
- Reported by
- EMSC
- Agency SASN
- Nearest tracker
- 349 km
- from Maputo
Outlined circle: this earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
338 kg of TNT
That is about 1/44,601 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 1,413 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
122 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Somali and African plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
10 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 have not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km since this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 31 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.338 km S of Driefontein, South AfricaOctober 31, 1919 · 218 km SE of this epicenter
- 5.712 km WNW of Westonaria, South AfricaMay 14, 1974 · 161 km W of this epicenter
- 5.55 km NNW of Orkney, South AfricaApril 7, 1977 · 269 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.43 km ESE of Orkney, South AfricaAugust 5, 2014 · 267 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.30 km NE of Orkney, South AfricaOctober 28, 1986 · 269 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.212 km SE of Orkney, South AfricaDecember 19, 1973 · 265 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.227 km N of Klerksdorp, South AfricaSeptember 30, 1973 · 259 km W of this epicenter
- 5.25 km SSE of Orkney, South AfricaFebruary 10, 1997 · 269 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 7 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 37 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1997M5.0
Avgold'S Hartebeestfontein Mine
21 Jul 1997 · 269 km away
15 deaths
- 1990M4.0
Charletonville
18 Oct 1990 · 182 km away
10 deaths
- 2018M2.1
West Rand
3 May 2018 · 169 km away
7 deaths
- 2005M4.3
Klerksdorp, Stilfontein
9 Mar 2005 · 256 km away
2 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 2009M3.5
Carletonville
6 Dec 2009 · 170 km away
2 deaths
- 2014M5.4
Orkney
5 Aug 2014 · 267 km away · intensity VII
1 death$40 million damage
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.