Reviewed by USGSBotswana9y ago
M4.6 earthquake 136 km W of Moijabana, Botswana
Monday, April 3, 2017, 18:38:12 UTC · 22.567°S, 25.099°E
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 136 km W of Moijabana, Botswana on Monday, April 3, 2017, 18:38:12 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). USGS received 2 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of II (weak). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.7 on April 3, 2017.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 2
- Max intensity II
- 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
120 tons of TNT
That is about 1/126 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 4 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
319 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
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.
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 | II · Weak | 1 | 479 km |
| Pietersburg, Limpopo, South Africa | II · Weak | 1 | 469 km |
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 4 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.
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: