QuakeScout
Magnitude2.5

Reported by EMSC10d ago

M2.5 earthquake in Albania

Wednesday, September 16, 2026, 01:55:02 UTC · 41.120°N, 19.980°E

A magnitude 2.5 earthquake struck in Albania on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, 01:55:02 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow).

Magnitude
2.5
Minor · ml
Depth
10 km
Shallow
Reported by
EMSC
Agency IGEO
Nearest tracker
27 km
from Tirana

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

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

85 kg of TNT

That is about 1/177,558 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 5,623 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

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 list 4 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km since this event; the largest was M2.2 on September 25, 2026. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

1h6h1d3d7dMainshock M2.5
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 · 10 km SW of this epicenter
  2. 2.2Albania1d ago · 13 km S of this epicenter
  3. 2.0Albania6d ago · 40 km SE of this epicenter
  4. 2.1Albania9d ago · 15 km W of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 348 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 · 282 km E of this epicenter
  2. 6.96 km E of Stari Bar, MontenegroApril 15, 1979 · 126 km NW of this epicenter
  3. 6.86 km W of Stara Kresna, BulgariaApril 4, 1904 · 271 km E of this epicenter
  4. 6.76 km NW of Lukovo, North MacedoniaNovember 30, 1967 · 56 km NE of this epicenter
  5. 6.77 km NE of Anávra, GreeceApril 30, 1954 · 280 km SE of this epicenter
  6. 6.73 km SW of Kuklis, North MacedoniaMarch 8, 1931 · 224 km E of this epicenter
  7. 6.635 km NW of Itháki, GreeceApril 22, 1948 · 285 km S of this epicenter
  8. 6.617 km NNW of Bilisht, AlbaniaFebruary 18, 1911 · 86 km SE of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 128 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 4,901 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1851M6.6

    Vlore (Valona),Berat; Turkey

    12 Oct 1851 · 73 km away · intensity XI

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

  2. 1963M6.0

    Macedonia: Skopje

    26 Jul 1963 · 155 km away · intensity X

    1,070 deaths$1.0 billion damage

  3. 1851

    Berat

    17 Oct 1851 · 73 km away · intensity X

    400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  4. 1920M6.2

    Tepelene, Dragoti, Peshtani, Maricaj

    26 Nov 1920 · 102 km away · intensity XI

    200 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  5. 1979M6.9

    Montenegro

    15 Apr 1979 · 126 km away · intensity IX

    131 deaths$2.7 billion damagetsunami

  6. 1905M6.6

    Shkoder

    1 Jun 1905 · 113 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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