Reviewed by USGSAlbania18d ago
M4.3 earthquake 13 km ESE of Pogradec, Albania
Tuesday, September 8, 2026, 03:40:56 UTC · 40.855°N, 20.801°E
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck 13 km ESE of Pogradec, Albania on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, 03:40:56 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). USGS received 6 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of III (weak).
- Magnitude
- 4.3
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 10 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 6
- Max intensity III
- 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
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
265 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Aegean Sea and Eurasian 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohrid, Ohrid, Macedonia | III · Weak | 5 | 31 km |
| Pogradec, Pogradec, Albania | III · Weak | 1 | 13 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 since this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 447 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.07 km SE of Stara Kresna, BulgariaApril 4, 1904 · 228 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.96 km E of Stari Bar, MontenegroApril 15, 1979 · 191 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.97 km NNE of Ágios Nikólaos, GreeceSeptember 26, 1932 · 255 km E of this epicenter
- 6.86 km W of Stara Kresna, BulgariaApril 4, 1904 · 220 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.815 km ENE of Póros, GreeceAugust 12, 1953 · 297 km S of this epicenter
- 6.76 km NW of Lukovo, North MacedoniaNovember 30, 1967 · 63 km N of this epicenter
- 6.77 km NE of Anávra, GreeceApril 30, 1954 · 215 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.73 km SW of Kuklis, North MacedoniaMarch 8, 1931 · 165 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 156 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 6,286 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1851M6.6
Vlore (Valona),Berat; Turkey
12 Oct 1851 · 101 km away · intensity XI
2,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1963M6.0
Macedonia: Skopje
26 Jul 1963 · 145 km away · intensity X
1,070 deaths$1.0 billion damage
- 1953M7.2
Lixouri-Argostoli (Kephallenia)
12 Aug 1953 · 284 km away · intensity X
476 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1851
Berat
17 Oct 1851 · 101 km away · intensity X
400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1767M6.7
Kefalonia
11 Jul 1767 · 289 km away · intensity X
303 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1867M7.2
Cephalonia
4 Feb 1867 · 293 km away · intensity X
223 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.