Reviewed by USGSBotswana9y ago
M4.7 earthquake 137 km SSW of Letlhakane, Botswana
Saturday, April 8, 2017, 19:55:32 UTC · 22.566°S, 25.084°E
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck 137 km SSW of Letlhakane, Botswana on Saturday, April 8, 2017, 19:55:32 UTC, at a depth of 14.4 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 M5.0 on April 5, 2017.
- Magnitude
- 4.7
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 14 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 earthquake
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
320 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
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orapa, Orapa, Botswana | II · Weak | 1 | 146 km |
| Letlhakane, Boteti, Botswana | II · Weak | 1 | 138 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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 3 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest: