QuakeScout
Magnitude2.7

Reported by EMSC5d ago

M2.7 earthquake in Albania

Monday, September 21, 2026, 20:24:44 UTC · 40.657°N, 20.830°E

A magnitude 2.7 earthquake struck in Albania on Monday, September 21, 2026, 20:24:44 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow).

Magnitude
2.7
Minor · ml
Depth
15 km
Shallow
Reported by
EMSC
Agency EMSC
Nearest tracker
52 km
from Ohrid

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

243 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 5 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km since this event; the largest was M2.9 on September 24, 2026. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M31h6h1d3dMainshock M2.7
Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.
  1. 2.0Albania1d ago · 19 km N of this epicenter
  2. 2.8Greece1d ago · 32 km NE of this epicenter
  3. 2.9Greece2d ago · 33 km NE of this epicenter
  4. 2.1Albania2d ago · 20 km S of this epicenter
  5. 2.5Albania4d ago · 5 km SW of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 500 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 · 236 km NE of this epicenter
  2. 7.026 km SW of Lixoúri, GreeceJanuary 17, 1983 · 297 km S of this epicenter
  3. 6.96 km E of Stari Bar, MontenegroApril 15, 1979 · 210 km NW of this epicenter
  4. 6.97 km NNE of Ágios Nikólaos, GreeceSeptember 26, 1932 · 249 km E of this epicenter
  5. 6.86 km W of Stara Kresna, BulgariaApril 4, 1904 · 229 km NE of this epicenter
  6. 6.815 km ENE of Póros, GreeceAugust 12, 1953 · 275 km S of this epicenter
  7. 6.86 km SW of Galaxídhion, GreeceMarch 31, 1965 · 288 km SE of this epicenter
  8. 6.76 km NW of Lukovo, North MacedoniaNovember 30, 1967 · 85 km N of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 173 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 6,522 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1851M6.6

    Vlore (Valona),Berat; Turkey

    12 Oct 1851 · 97 km away · intensity XI

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

  2. 1963M6.0

    Macedonia: Skopje

    26 Jul 1963 · 165 km away · intensity X

    1,070 deaths$1.0 billion damage

  3. 1953M7.2

    Lixouri-Argostoli (Kephallenia)

    12 Aug 1953 · 262 km away · intensity X

    476 deaths$100 million damagetsunami

  4. 1851

    Berat

    17 Oct 1851 · 97 km away · intensity X

    400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  5. 1767M6.7

    Kefalonia

    11 Jul 1767 · 267 km away · intensity X

    303 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  6. 1867M7.2

    Cephalonia

    4 Feb 1867 · 272 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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