M4.7 earthquake 108 km NE of Massawa, Eritrea
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck 108 km NE of Massawa, Eritrea on Mon, Jan 14, 1980, 3:57 PM GMT+3 (12:57 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.9 137 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), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1980-01-14 12:57:15 UTC
- Depth
- 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 16.323° N, 40.173° 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
- 28
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.7 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.6110 km NE of Massawa, Eritrea · 17041 days ago · 10 km deep · 7 km away
- 4.9137 km NE of Massawa, Eritrea · 17002 days ago · 10 km deep · 33 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayEritrea earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001508. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 12:18 PM UTC.