QuakeScout
Magnitude2.0

Reported by EMSC6d ago

M2.0 earthquake in Albania

Sunday, September 20, 2026, 23:29:03 UTC · 40.803°N, 20.199°E

A magnitude 2.0 earthquake struck in Albania on Sunday, September 20, 2026, 23:29:03 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow).

Magnitude
2.0
Minor · ml
Depth
15 km
Shallow
Reported by
EMSC
Agency IGEO
Nearest tracker
62 km
from Ohrid

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

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

15 kg of TNT

That is about 1/998,483 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 31,623 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

256 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

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 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.

1h6h1d3dMainshock M2.0
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 · 36 km NW of this epicenter
  2. 2.2Albania1d ago · 28 km NW of this epicenter
  3. 2.0Albania1d ago · 50 km E of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 412 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 · 276 km NE of this epicenter
  2. 6.96 km E of Stari Bar, MontenegroApril 15, 1979 · 166 km NW of this epicenter
  3. 6.86 km W of Stara Kresna, BulgariaApril 4, 1904 · 267 km NE of this epicenter
  4. 6.815 km ENE of Póros, GreeceAugust 12, 1953 · 298 km S of this epicenter
  5. 6.76 km NW of Lukovo, North MacedoniaNovember 30, 1967 · 71 km NE of this epicenter
  6. 6.77 km NE of Anávra, GreeceApril 30, 1954 · 242 km SE of this epicenter
  7. 6.73 km SW of Kuklis, North MacedoniaMarch 8, 1931 · 215 km E of this epicenter
  8. 6.635 km NW of Itháki, GreeceApril 22, 1948 · 248 km S of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 142 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 5,919 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1851M6.6

    Vlore (Valona),Berat; Turkey

    12 Oct 1851 · 54 km away · intensity XI

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

  2. 1963M6.0

    Macedonia: Skopje

    26 Jul 1963 · 171 km away · intensity X

    1,070 deaths$1.0 billion damage

  3. 1953M7.2

    Lixouri-Argostoli (Kephallenia)

    12 Aug 1953 · 283 km away · intensity X

    476 deaths$100 million damagetsunami

  4. 1851

    Berat

    17 Oct 1851 · 54 km away · intensity X

    400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  5. 1767M6.7

    Kefalonia

    11 Jul 1767 · 283 km away · intensity X

    303 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  6. 1867M7.2

    Cephalonia

    4 Feb 1867 · 286 km away · intensity X

    223 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

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

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