Reported by EMSC11d ago
M2.7 earthquake in Republic of North Macedonia
Tuesday, September 15, 2026, 12:29:40 UTC · 41.763°N, 22.946°E
A magnitude 2.7 earthquake struck in Republic of North Macedonia on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, 12:29:40 UTC, at a depth of 15.3 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 2.7
- Minor · m
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- Reported by
- EMSC
- Agency EMSC
- Nearest tracker
- 110 km
- from Kumanovo
Outlined circle: this earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
169 kg of TNT
That is about 1/88,990 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 2,818 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
222 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
15 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 288 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.2Aegean SeaNovember 8, 1905 · 233 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.19 km S of Stara Zagora, BulgariaApril 14, 1928 · 232 km E of this epicenter
- 7.13 km W of Brezovo, BulgariaApril 18, 1928 · 185 km E of this epicenter
- 7.07 km SE of Stara Kresna, BulgariaApril 4, 1904 · 25 km E of this epicenter
- 6.97 km NNE of Ágios Nikólaos, GreeceSeptember 26, 1932 · 175 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.921 km SSW of Kamariótissa, GreeceMay 24, 2014 · 262 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.86 km W of Stara Kresna, BulgariaApril 4, 1904 · 14 km E of this epicenter
- 6.839 km NW of Mýrina, GreeceAugust 6, 1983 · 236 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 93 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 1,934 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1963M6.0
Macedonia: Skopje
26 Jul 1963 · 141 km away · intensity X
1,070 deaths$1.0 billion damage
- 1932M6.9
Hierissos-Strantonion (Chalkidiki)
26 Sep 1932 · 162 km away · intensity X
161 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1928M6.8
Chirpan
14 Apr 1928 · 201 km away · intensity X
127 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1905M6.6
Shkoder
1 Jun 1905 · 279 km away · intensity X
120 deaths$24 million damage
- 1931M5.8
Korce
28 Jan 1931 · 221 km away · intensity IX
90 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 2019M6.4
Durres, Thumane, Tirana
26 Nov 2019 · 283 km away
51 deaths$1.1 billion damage
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.