Ethiopia earthquakes

M5.0 earthquake Ethiopia

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck in Ethiopia on Wed, Sep 19, 1979, 9:48 PM GMT+3 (18:48 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
5.0 (mb), moderate
Local time
UTC
1979-09-19 18:48:12 UTC
Depth
33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter
12.239° N, 40.359° E
Region
Ethiopia
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
59

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.0 and up: 0 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.

None recorded.

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000130w (also filed as iscgem659032). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 11:36 AM UTC.