QuakeScout
Magnitude2.1

Reported by EMSC6d ago

M2.1 earthquake in Greece

Sunday, September 20, 2026, 05:33:10 UTC · 39.988°N, 20.366°E

A magnitude 2.1 earthquake struck in Greece on Sunday, September 20, 2026, 05:33:10 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow).

Magnitude
2.1
Minor · ml
Depth
15 km
Shallow
Reported by
EMSC
Agency IGEO
Nearest tracker
91 km
from Vlore

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

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

21 kg of TNT

That is about 1/706,872 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 22,387 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

168 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 list 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km since this event; the largest was M3.7 on September 20, 2026. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M3M41h6h1d3d7dMainshock M2.1
Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.
  1. 2.5Greece2d ago · 36 km S of this epicenter
  2. 2.2Albania3d ago · 44 km W of this epicenter
  3. 3.7Greece6d ago · 39 km SE of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 597 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.026 km SW of Lixoúri, GreeceJanuary 17, 1983 · 218 km S of this epicenter
  2. 6.96 km E of Stari Bar, MontenegroApril 15, 1979 · 254 km N of this epicenter
  3. 6.97 km NNE of Ágios Nikólaos, GreeceSeptember 26, 1932 · 289 km E of this epicenter
  4. 6.815 km ENE of Póros, GreeceAugust 12, 1953 · 207 km S of this epicenter
  5. 6.86 km SW of Galaxídhion, GreeceMarch 31, 1965 · 249 km SE of this epicenter
  6. 6.832 km SW of Lithakiá, GreeceOctober 25, 2018 · 275 km S of this epicenter
  7. 6.7Ionian SeaNovember 15, 1959 · 239 km S of this epicenter
  8. 6.76 km NW of Lukovo, North MacedoniaNovember 30, 1967 · 156 km N of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 183 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 7,216 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1851M6.6

    Vlore (Valona),Berat; Turkey

    12 Oct 1851 · 80 km away · intensity XI

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

  2. 1963M6.0

    Macedonia: Skopje

    26 Jul 1963 · 248 km away · intensity X

    1,070 deaths$1.0 billion damage

  3. 1953M7.2

    Lixouri-Argostoli (Kephallenia)

    12 Aug 1953 · 191 km away · intensity X

    476 deaths$100 million damagetsunami

  4. 1851

    Berat

    17 Oct 1851 · 80 km away · intensity X

    400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  5. 1820M6.9

    Zakinthos (Zante)

    29 Dec 1820 · 260 km away · intensity X

    388 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  6. 1767M6.7

    Kefalonia

    11 Jul 1767 · 191 km away · intensity X

    303 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

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

Nearby trackers

Closest city pages