March 18, 1945 Earthquake: Masaka, Uganda
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck Masaka, Uganda on March 18, 1945 at 08:01:26 UTC. It killed 5 people.
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
- March 18, 1945
- Time
- 08:01:26 UTC
- Place
- Masaka, Uganda
- Magnitude
- 6.4 (Mw)
- Intensity
- 9 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 0.214° S, 31.289° E
- Country
- Uganda
The toll
- Deaths
- 5
- Injuries
- 8
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Few (about 1 to 50)
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.
1945 March 18, 08:01:26 UTC, 0 N, 32 E magnitude 6. (reference #130)
1945 March 18, 08:01:25.64 UTC, -0.214 N 31.289 E, magnitude 6.35 Mw. (reference #10476)
1945 March 18, 08:01:25.64 UTC, 0 N 32 E, magnitude 6.0 Ms. Masaka, Uganda. 5 people killed, and buildings destroyed. The Masaka earthquake occurred on 18 March 1945. It had a magnitude of M6.0. Five people were killed during the earthquake and eight were injured. Some moderate damage to buildings was observed in Entebbe and the Entebbe seismograph station was put out of action. (reference #13028)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
More
Significant earthquakes of 1945The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1945Recent 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 3800.