Reviewed by USGSDjibouti35y ago
M3.6 earthquake 15 km SE of Obock, Djibouti
Sunday, March 15, 1992, 04:09:37 UTC · 11.856°N, 43.376°E
A magnitude 3.6 earthquake struck 15 km SE of Obock, Djibouti on Sunday, March 15, 1992, 04:09:37 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 3.6
- Minor · ml
- 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
4 tons of TNT
That is about 1/3,975 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 126 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
8 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Somali and Arabian 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 in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 70 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.512 km ENE of Gâlâfi, DjiboutiAugust 20, 1989 · 156 km W of this epicenter
- 6.417 km NNE of Gâlâfi, DjiboutiAugust 21, 1989 · 164 km W of this epicenter
- 6.217 km NE of Dubti, EthiopiaMarch 29, 1969 · 240 km W of this epicenter
- 6.24 km WSW of Arta, DjiboutiMarch 5, 1992 · 72 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.210 km WNW of Djibouti, DjiboutiMarch 11, 1961 · 42 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.136 km ENE of Dubti, EthiopiaApril 5, 1969 · 219 km W of this epicenter
- 6.118 km NNE of Gâlâfi, DjiboutiAugust 20, 1989 · 163 km W of this epicenter
- 6.126 km NNW of Gâlâfi, DjiboutiAugust 21, 1989 · 175 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 6 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 163 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1861
Dubbi
7 May 1861 · 288 km away
106 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1969M6.2
Sardo
29 Mar 1969 · 236 km away · intensity IX
40 deathsUnder $1 million damage
- 1991M4.7
Western Arabian Peninsula
22 Nov 1991 · 238 km away
11 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1989M6.3
Galafi, Yabaki; Ethiopia
20 Aug 1989 · 156 km away · intensity IX
6 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1973M5.9
Djibouti
1 Apr 1973 · 44 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1909
Djibouti; Yemen
19 Feb 1909 · 97 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.