Reviewed by USGSZimbabwe20y ago
M5.2 earthquake 143 km SSE of Chipinge, Zimbabwe
Wednesday, March 22, 2006, 11:35:13 UTC · 21.344°S, 33.258°E
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 143 km SSE of Chipinge, Zimbabwe on Wednesday, March 22, 2006, 11:35:13 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.6 on March 15, 2006.
- Magnitude
- 5.2
- Moderate · mwc
- 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
951 tons of TNT
That is about 1/16 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 2 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
15 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 lists 8 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.2 on April 14, 2006. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 4.5106 km SSE of Chipinge, Zimbabwe20y ago · 38 km NW of this epicenter
- 4.6139 km SSE of Chipinge, Zimbabwe20y ago · 4 km N of this epicenter
- 5.2172 km SE of Chipinge, Zimbabwe20y ago · 41 km E of this epicenter
- 4.6139 km SSE of Chipinge, Zimbabwe20y ago · 12 km NE of this epicenter
- 4.5151 km SSE of Chipinge, Zimbabwe20y ago · 12 km E of this epicenter
- 4.2140 km SSE of Chipinge, Zimbabwe20y ago · 4 km N of this epicenter
- 4.5109 km SSE of Chipinge, Zimbabwe20y ago · 35 km N of this epicenter
- 4.8145 km SE of Chipinge, Zimbabwe20y ago · 23 km NE of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 13 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.0160 km SE of Chipinge, ZimbabweFebruary 22, 2006 · 34 km E of this epicenter
- 6.1203 km N of Chokwé, MozambiqueMay 19, 1940 · 159 km S of this epicenter
- 6.195 km ESE of Chimanimani, ZimbabweMay 10, 1951 · 134 km N of this epicenter
- 6.0209 km SSE of Chipinge, ZimbabweMarch 19, 1951 · 67 km SE of this epicenter
- 5.8184 km SSE of Chipinge, ZimbabweJuly 20, 1957 · 41 km S of this epicenter
- 5.7161 km SE of Chipinge, ZimbabweFebruary 23, 2006 · 28 km E of this epicenter
- 5.6146 km SE of Chipinge, ZimbabweMarch 15, 2006 · 40 km NE of this epicenter
- 5.4134 km SSE of Chipinge, ZimbabweFebruary 22, 2006 · 16 km N 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, which together caused about 4 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2006M7.0
Mozambique
22 Feb 2006 · 34 km away · intensity V
4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.