Zimbabwe earthquakes

M7.0 earthquake 160 km SE of Chipinge, Zimbabwe

A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck 160 km SE of Chipinge, Zimbabwe on Thu, Feb 23, 2006, 12:19 AM GMT+2 (22:19 UTC), 11 km (7 mi) below the surface.

Chipinge forecast More in Zimbabwe

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 7.0 (mwb), major
Local time: Thu, Feb 23, 2006, 12:19 AM GMT+2
UTC: 2006-02-22 22:19:07 UTC
Depth: 11.0 km (6.8 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 21.324° S, 33.583° E
Region: Zimbabwe
Felt reports: 268
Strongest shaking: IX, violent shaking
Tsunami flag: No
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

Shaking

The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.

Strongest estimated: IX, violent shaking
Peak ground acceleration: 51.3% of gravity
Peak ground velocity: 4.5 cm/s
Map: Automatic

USGS ShakeMap: estimated shaking intensity around the epicenter — Estimated shaking intensity. Map: USGS ShakeMap.

Did you feel it?

268 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was V, moderate shaking.

Fault motion and ground failure

How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.

Faulting: Normal
Moment magnitude: 7.0 Mww
Nodal plane 1: Strike 168°, dip 61°, rake 279°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 329°, dip 30°, rake -106°
Landslide alert: Green
Liquefaction alert: Orange

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Depth from: OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
Station coverage gap: 23°
Stations used: 412

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 65 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 65.

Before

4.4143 km SSE of Chipinge, ZimbabweTue, Feb 21, 9:10 PM GMT+2 · 7517 days ago · 10 km deep · 29 km away

Earthquakes today Zimbabwe earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000eamh (also filed as us2006jlca, choy20060222221907, gcmtc200602222219a, duputel200602222219a, gcmt20060222221907, atlas20060222221907, iscgem8096170). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 3:11 AM UTC.