August 25, 1906 Earthquake: Langano, Ethiopia
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Langano, Ethiopia on August 25, 1906 at 13:47:37 UTC.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- August 25, 1906
- Time
- 13:47:37 UTC
- Place
- Langano, Ethiopia
- Magnitude
- 6.5 (Mw)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 7.091° N, 38.065° E
- Country
- Ethiopia
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
1906 Aug 25. Magnitude 6.8, 7.020 N, 40.09 E. The main event occurred on 25 August 1906 with a magnitude of M6.8 about 100 km south of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. An aftershock, which occurred on 28 October 1906, caused great fear in the population of Addis Ababa. Though violent shaking was experienced during the main event, only slight damage was observed, mainly because the town was barely 10 years old and had not yet fully developed (Gouin, 1979). According to Ayele and Kulhanek (2000) the earthquake was the largest recorded in Ethiopia in the twentieth century and was widely felt in the country. (reference #13028)
1906 Aug 25, 13:47:37.20 UTC. Magnitude 6.48 Mw., 7.091 N, 38.065 E. (reference #10476)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
More
Significant earthquakes of 1906The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1906Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 2780.