May 15, 2018 Earthquake: Mayotte, Comoros
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck Mayotte, Comoros on May 15, 2018 at 15:48:09 UTC, 17 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 15, 2018
- Time
- 15:48:09 UTC
- Place
- Mayotte, Comoros
- Magnitude
- 5.9 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 17 km (11 mi)
- Intensity
- 6 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 12.776° S, 45.581° E
- Country
- Comoros
The toll
- Injuries
- 3
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses damaged
- 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.
Three people injured on Mayotte. Pamanzi, Pamanzi, Mayotte - CDI: 6; Ouangani, Mayotte, Mayotte - CDI: 6; Sada, Mayotte, Mayotte - CDI: 5; Mamoudzou, Mayotte, Mayotte - CDI: 4; Mtsamboro, Mayotte, Mayotte - CDI: 4 (reference #13456)
The activity is still increasing with, in particular, five earthquakes of magnitude greater than 4.0 on Tuesday 15 and Wednesday 16 May morning. Tuesday at 18:48 local time, the strongest shake ever recorded in the area of the Comoros archipelago was detected. It reached a magnitude 5.8 and was widely felt throughout the island. The prefecture of Mayotte reports three minor injuries and slight damage a priori on vulnerable buildings. Tuesday at 23:25 a jolt of magnitude 4.7 was widely felt. Since then, regular seismic activity has been observed, which has not diminished so far. It should be noted that the earthquakes of the last 24 hours are not close to Mayotte. They are still located at a distance of about 50 to 60 km east of Mamoudzou, with a trend that remains to be confirmed of a shift in seismicity to the east. (reference #12145)
More
Significant earthquakes of 2018The 2000sEvery quake the USGS located in 2018Recent 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 10337.