M5.6 earthquake 171 km SSE of Chipinge, Zimbabwe
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 171 km SSE of Chipinge, Zimbabwe on Thu, Sep 22, 2016, 10:06 PM GMT+2 (20:06 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.6 (mww), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 2016-09-22 20:06:11 UTC
- Depth
- 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 21.552° S, 33.411° E
- Region
- Zimbabwe
- Felt reports
- 3
- Strongest shaking
- VII, very strong shaking
- PAGER alert
- Green
- 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
- VII, very strong shaking
- Peak ground acceleration
- 23.9% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- 3.0 cm/s
- Map
- Automatic
Did you feel it?
3 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was III, weak shaking.
Estimated impact
The USGS PAGER system estimates deaths and economic losses from the shaking and the population and buildings exposed to it.
- Alert level
- Green: little or no damage or loss of life expected
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
- 5.6 Mww
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 185°, dip 50°, rake -68°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 334°, dip 45°, rake -113°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 8.9 km horizontally, 1.7 km in depth
- Depth from
- Operator assigned
- Station coverage gap
- 39°
- Stations used
- 353
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
Before
Earthquakes todayZimbabwe earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us10006rrf (also filed as gcmt20160922200612, iscgem611462278). Read Mon, Sep 21, 2026, 6:53 PM UTC.