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Rwanda earthquakes

No earthquake of magnitude 2.5 or more has been located in Rwanda in the past 30 days. The largest on record there is M5.9 20 km N of Cyangugu, Rwanda, Feb 3, 2008.

From the USGS, checked Sun, Sep 20, 2026, 10:22 PM UTC. Times are local to each quake. Outside the United States the catalog is complete from about magnitude 4.5; smaller quakes are listed where a network reported them.

Map

Where every quake below was located in Rwanda. Select one for its page.

Open the live map with earthquakes

Past 30 days

Magnitude 2.5 and up, newest first.

None in the past 30 days. Most of Rwanda’s quakes are small; the largest on record are below.

Largest on record in Rwanda

The 9 largest in the USGS catalog since 1900, of magnitude 5 and up. Older magnitudes are estimates from historical accounts and early instruments.

Mag.	Date	Where	Depth
5.9	Feb 3, 2008	20 km N of Cyangugu, Rwanda	10 km
5.8	Aug 7, 2015	37 km N of Cyangugu, Rwanda	11 km
5.5	Aug 7, 2015	43 km N of Cyangugu, Rwanda	10 km
5.3	Apr 25, 1965	4 km SSE of Cyangugu, Rwanda	15 km
5.3	Feb 14, 2008	8 km N of Cyangugu, Rwanda	10 km
5.2	Apr 14, 1977	4 km NE of Cyangugu, Rwanda	33 km
5.0	Jun 29, 1985	2 km N of Cyangugu, Rwanda	10 km
5.0	Oct 24, 2002	37 km W of Kibuye, Rwanda	10 km
5.0	Feb 3, 2008	11 km NE of Cyangugu, Rwanda	10 km

By year

Every year the USGS catalog covers.

2020s2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
2010s2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2000s2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
1990s1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
1980s1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1970s1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1960s1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1950s1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
1940s1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
1930s1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
1920s1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
1910s1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
1900s1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909

What this means

Magnitude measures the energy a quake releases: each step up is about 32 times more energy, so an M6 releases about a thousand times the energy of an M4. Intensity measures the shaking at one place, which depends on the distance, the depth and the ground. One quake has one magnitude and many intensities.

The Modified Mercalli intensity scale
Intensity	Shaking	What people notice
I	Not felt	Recorded by instruments only.
II to III	Weak	Felt by a few people at rest, mostly on upper floors; hanging objects may swing.
IV	Light	Felt indoors by many. Dishes, windows and doors rattle; like a heavy truck passing.
V	Moderate	Felt by nearly everyone; sleepers wake. Some dishes break and unstable objects tip over.
VI	Strong	Felt by all; heavy furniture moves, plaster cracks. Damage is slight.
VII	Very strong	Damage slight to moderate in ordinary buildings, considerable in poorly built ones.
VIII	Severe	Considerable damage in ordinary buildings, with partial collapse; chimneys and walls fall.
IX and up	Violent to extreme	Heavy damage even in well-designed buildings; many shifted off foundations.

Did I just feel an earthquake?

A quake appears in these lists within minutes: a few for the US, up to twenty for a quake abroad. Search your town above, or open your state. If it was a quake, tell the USGS through its Did You Feel It? form. If shaking starts: drop, cover and hold on; stay indoors until it stops; near the coast, move to high ground after strong or long shaking without waiting for a warning.

Sources

Earthquakes, magnitudes, depths, shaking estimates and felt reports from the U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program, read from its live feeds and its catalog back to 1900. Tsunami messages from NOAA’s tsunami warning centers.