M4.7 earthquake 136 km NE of Massawa, Eritrea
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck 136 km NE of Massawa, Eritrea on Wed, Feb 22, 1978, 1:04 AM GMT+3 (22:04 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.0 132 km NE of Massawa, Eritrea. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.7 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-02-21 22:04:42 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 16.462° N, 40.392° E
- Region
- Eritrea
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Depth from
- OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
- Stations used
- 29
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.7 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
Earthquakes todayEritrea earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000t33. Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 9:18 PM UTC.