Reviewed by USGSSouth Africa34y ago
M5.3 earthquake 5 km SSE of Welkom, South Africa
Saturday, June 6, 1992, 18:34:00 UTC · 28.020°S, 26.753°E
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 5 km SSE of Welkom, South Africa on Saturday, June 6, 1992, 18:34:00 UTC, at a depth of 9.5 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.5 on January 25, 1989.
- Magnitude
- 5.3
- Moderate · mb
- Depth
- 10 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VII
- Very strong (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
1 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/11 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 3 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
16 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Somali 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 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 30 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.128 km N of Maputsoe, LesothoFebruary 20, 1912 · 127 km SE of this epicenter
- 5.977 km SE of Ritchie, South AfricaJuly 1, 1976 · 227 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.712 km WNW of Westonaria, South AfricaMay 14, 1974 · 209 km N of this epicenter
- 5.55 km NNW of Orkney, South AfricaApril 7, 1977 · 121 km N of this epicenter
- 5.50 km S of Welkom, South AfricaJanuary 25, 1989 · 4 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.30 km NE of Orkney, South AfricaOctober 28, 1986 · 116 km N of this epicenter
- 5.28 km WNW of Welkom, South AfricaDecember 8, 1976 · 12 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.212 km SE of Orkney, South AfricaDecember 19, 1973 · 108 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 3 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 16 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1990M4.0
Charletonville
18 Oct 1990 · 191 km away
10 deaths
- 1976M5.2
South Africa
8 Dec 1976 · 12 km away
4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1990M4.2
Welkom
26 Sep 1990 · 3 km away
2 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.