QuakeScout
Magnitude2.1

Reported by EMSC2d ago

M2.1 earthquake in Albania

Thursday, September 24, 2026, 02:06:21 UTC · 40.479°N, 20.837°E

A magnitude 2.1 earthquake struck in Albania on Thursday, September 24, 2026, 02:06:21 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
72 km
from Ohrid

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

224 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 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 M2.1
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 · 39 km N of this epicenter
  2. 2.8Greece2d ago · 45 km NE of this epicenter
  3. 2.9Greece2d ago · 47 km NE of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 540 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 · 247 km NE of this epicenter
  2. 7.026 km SW of Lixoúri, GreeceJanuary 17, 1983 · 278 km S of this epicenter
  3. 6.96 km E of Stari Bar, MontenegroApril 15, 1979 · 225 km NW of this epicenter
  4. 6.97 km NNE of Ágios Nikólaos, GreeceSeptember 26, 1932 · 247 km E of this epicenter
  5. 6.86 km W of Stara Kresna, BulgariaApril 4, 1904 · 240 km NE of this epicenter
  6. 6.815 km ENE of Póros, GreeceAugust 12, 1953 · 256 km S of this epicenter
  7. 6.86 km SW of Galaxídhion, GreeceMarch 31, 1965 · 270 km SE of this epicenter
  8. 6.7Ionian SeaNovember 15, 1959 · 294 km S of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 179 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 6,826 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1851M6.6

    Vlore (Valona),Berat; Turkey

    12 Oct 1851 · 96 km away · intensity XI

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

  2. 1963M6.0

    Macedonia: Skopje

    26 Jul 1963 · 184 km away · intensity X

    1,070 deaths$1.0 billion damage

  3. 1953M7.2

    Lixouri-Argostoli (Kephallenia)

    12 Aug 1953 · 242 km away · intensity X

    476 deaths$100 million damagetsunami

  4. 1851

    Berat

    17 Oct 1851 · 96 km away · intensity X

    400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  5. 1767M6.7

    Kefalonia

    11 Jul 1767 · 248 km away · intensity X

    303 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  6. 1894M6.7

    Locride, Malesina-Martinon (Lokris)

    20 Apr 1894 · 291 km away · intensity X

    255 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

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

Nearby trackers

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