April 1, 1973 Earthquake: Djibouti, Ethiopia
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck Djibouti, Ethiopia on April 1, 1973 at 07:12:37 UTC, 31 km below the surface.
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
- April 1, 1973
- Time
- 07:12:37 UTC
- Place
- Djibouti, Ethiopia
- Magnitude
- 5.9 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 31 km (19 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 11.660° N, 43.030° E
- Country
- Ethiopia
The toll
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 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.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
More
Significant earthquakes of 1973The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1973Recent 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 4633.