Reviewed by USGS8h ago
M4.6 earthquake south of Africa
Saturday, September 26, 2026, 17:50:20 UTC · 48.556°S, 31.137°E
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck south of Africa on Saturday, September 26, 2026, 17:50:20 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.7 on September 20, 2026.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 10 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- 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
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
7 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Antarctic and African plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
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
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km since this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 58 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.01942 Southwest Indian Ridge EarthquakeNovember 10, 1942 · 156 km S of this epicenter
- 6.3Prince Edward Islands regionMay 9, 2003 · 92 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.2south of AfricaJune 8, 1968 · 37 km S of this epicenter
- 6.2Prince Edward Islands regionAugust 21, 1978 · 143 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.2Prince Edward Islands regionAugust 7, 2005 · 247 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.1south of AfricaFebruary 29, 1924 · 144 km S of this epicenter
- 6.1south of AfricaAugust 22, 1933 · 162 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.1south of AfricaSeptember 26, 2020 · 74 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 1 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1942M7.9
Prince Edward Island
10 Nov 1942 · 122 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.