M4.7 earthquake 129 km W of Moijabana, Botswana

Monday, April 3, 2017, 18:11:26 UTC · 22.578°S, 25.169°E

A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck 129 km W of Moijabana, Botswana on Monday, April 3, 2017, 18:11:26 UTC, at a depth of 16.1 km (shallow). USGS received 5 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of IV (light). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.0 on April 3, 2017.

Magnitude: 4.7; Light · mb
Depth: 16 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 5; Max intensity IV
Est. shaking: —; No ShakeMap
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

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

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

169 tons of TNT

That is about 1/89 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 3 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

312 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Somali and African plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.

Depth: shallow

16 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.

Did You Feel It?

Where it was felt

Reports sent by people to USGS, grouped by place (most reports first). Intensity uses the Modified Mercalli scale (I–X): what people felt, not the magnitude.

Place	Intensity	Reports	Distance
Verwoerdburg, Gauteng, South Africa	IV · Light	1	474 km
Ellisras, Limpopo, South Africa	III · Weak	1	291 km
Rustenburg, North West, South Africa	III · Weak	1	400 km
Midrand, Gauteng, South Africa	III · Weak	1	483 km
Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa	II · Weak	1	495 km

I felt it — report to USGS ↗

USGS PAGER estimate

Who was exposed to shaking

USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.

After the main event

Aftershocks within 50 km

USGS lists 5 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.0 on April 5, 2017. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 2 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

Nearby trackers