QuakeScout
Magnitude2.7

Reported by EMSC9d ago

M2.7 earthquake in Adriatic Sea

Thursday, September 17, 2026, 13:40:10 UTC · 41.686°N, 19.534°E

A magnitude 2.7 earthquake struck in Adriatic Sea on Thursday, September 17, 2026, 13:40:10 UTC, at a depth of 9.0 km (shallow).

Magnitude
2.7
Minor · ml
Depth
9 km
Shallow
Reported by
EMSC
Agency EMSC
Nearest tracker
46 km
from Tirana

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

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

307 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

9 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 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km since this event; the largest was M2.5 on September 24, 2026. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M31h6h1d3d7dMainshock M2.7
Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.
  1. 2.5Albania2d ago · 32 km E of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 269 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 6.96 km E of Stari Bar, MontenegroApril 15, 1979 · 53 km NW of this epicenter
  2. 6.86 km W of Stara Kresna, BulgariaApril 4, 1904 · 297 km E of this epicenter
  3. 6.76 km NW of Lukovo, North MacedoniaNovember 30, 1967 · 91 km E of this epicenter
  4. 6.73 km SW of Kuklis, North MacedoniaMarch 8, 1931 · 261 km E of this epicenter
  5. 6.617 km NNW of Bilisht, AlbaniaFebruary 18, 1911 · 153 km SE of this epicenter
  6. 6.610 km W of Aianí, GreeceMay 13, 1995 · 249 km SE of this epicenter
  7. 6.59 km E of Stari Bar, MontenegroJune 1, 1905 · 51 km NW of this epicenter
  8. 6.415 km WSW of Mamurras, AlbaniaNovember 26, 2019 · 19 km S of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 105 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 4,580 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1851M6.6

    Vlore (Valona),Berat; Turkey

    12 Oct 1851 · 133 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 · 133 km away · intensity X

    400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  4. 1920M6.2

    Tepelene, Dragoti, Peshtani, Maricaj

    26 Nov 1920 · 170 km away · intensity XI

    200 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  5. 1979M6.9

    Montenegro

    15 Apr 1979 · 53 km away · intensity IX

    131 deaths$2.7 billion damagetsunami

  6. 1905M6.6

    Shkoder

    1 Jun 1905 · 46 km away · intensity X

    120 deaths$24 million damage

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

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