M4.3 earthquake 4 km WNW of Fushë-Krujë, Albania

Sunday, September 22, 2019, 20:08:41 UTC · 41.490°N, 19.670°E

A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck 4 km WNW of Fushë-Krujë, Albania on Sunday, September 22, 2019, 20:08:41 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). USGS received 37 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of V (moderate).

Magnitude: 4.3; Light · mb
Depth: 10 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 37; Max intensity V
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

43 tons of TNT

That is about 1/354 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 11 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

294 km

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

Depth: shallow

10 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
Tirana, Tirana, Albania	IV · Light	30	23 km
Vlorë, Vlorë, Albania	V · Moderate	1	113 km
Krujë, Krujë, Albania	V · Moderate	1	15 km
Durrës, Durrës, Albania	IV · Light	1	27 km
Kamzë, Tirana, Albania	IV · Light	1	16 km
Áyios Matthaíos, Kentriki Ellada, Greece	III · Weak	1	221 km
Rome, Lazio, Italy	III · Weak	1	598 km
Laç, Kurbin, Albania	II · Weak	1	19 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 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.4 on September 25, 2019. 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.

4.45 km ESE of Durrës, Albania7y ago · 25 km SW of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 263 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 107 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 4,608 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1851M6.6
Vlore (Valona),Berat; Turkey
12 Oct 1851 · 110 km away · intensity XI
2,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
1963M6.0
Macedonia: Skopje
26 Jul 1963 · 151 km away · intensity X
1,070 deaths$1.0 billion damage
1851
Berat
17 Oct 1851 · 110 km away · intensity X
400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
1920M6.2
Tepelene, Dragoti, Peshtani, Maricaj
26 Nov 1920 · 146 km away · intensity XI
200 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
1979M6.9
Montenegro
15 Apr 1979 · 77 km away · intensity IX
131 deaths$2.7 billion damagetsunami
1905M6.6
Shkoder
1 Jun 1905 · 68 km away · intensity X
120 deaths$24 million damage

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

Nearby trackers