QuakeScout
Magnitude2.9

Reported by EMSC2d ago

M2.9 earthquake in Greece

Thursday, September 24, 2026, 20:18:49 UTC · 40.826°N, 21.159°E

A magnitude 2.9 earthquake struck in Greece on Thursday, September 24, 2026, 20:18:49 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow).

Magnitude
2.9
Minor · ml
Depth
15 km
Shallow
Reported by
EMSC
Agency EMSC
Nearest tracker
45 km
from Ohrid

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

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

338 kg of TNT

That is about 1/44,601 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 1,413 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

253 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 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km since this event; the largest was M2.8 on September 25, 2026. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M31h6h1dMainshock M2.9
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 · 31 km W of this epicenter
  2. 2.8Greece1d ago · 3 km S of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 483 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 · 203 km NE of this epicenter
  2. 6.96 km E of Stari Bar, MontenegroApril 15, 1979 · 215 km NW of this epicenter
  3. 6.97 km NNE of Ágios Nikólaos, GreeceSeptember 26, 1932 · 225 km E of this epicenter
  4. 6.86 km W of Stara Kresna, BulgariaApril 4, 1904 · 196 km NE of this epicenter
  5. 6.815 km ENE of Póros, GreeceAugust 12, 1953 · 295 km S of this epicenter
  6. 6.86 km SW of Galaxídhion, GreeceMarch 31, 1965 · 294 km S of this epicenter
  7. 6.828 km SSE of Karyes, GreeceJanuary 18, 1982 · 283 km E of this epicenter
  8. 6.76 km NW of Lukovo, North MacedoniaNovember 30, 1967 · 81 km NW of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 167 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 6,420 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1851M6.6

    Vlore (Valona),Berat; Turkey

    12 Oct 1851 · 128 km away · intensity XI

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

  2. 1963M6.0

    Macedonia: Skopje

    26 Jul 1963 · 142 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 · 128 km away · intensity X

    400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  5. 1767M6.7

    Kefalonia

    11 Jul 1767 · 291 km away · intensity X

    303 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  6. 1867M7.2

    Cephalonia

    4 Feb 1867 · 295 km away · intensity X

    223 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

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

Nearby trackers

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