May 17, 2009 Earthquake: Western, Saudi Arabia
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck Western, Saudi Arabia on May 17, 2009 at 19:50:06 UTC, 10 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
- May 17, 2009
- Time
- 19:50:06 UTC
- Place
- Western, Saudi Arabia
- Magnitude
- 4.6 (mb)
- Focal depth
- 10 km (6 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 25.212° N, 37.597° E
- Country
- Saudi Arabia
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Some (about 51 to 100)
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.
Some houses collapsed or damaged at Umm Lajj. Felt in the Al `Ays area and at Medina and Yanbu` al Bahr. Some people reported a pungent odor from the volcanic fields in the area. (reference #1053)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
More
Significant earthquakes of 2009The 2000sEvery quake the USGS located in 2009Recent 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 8379.