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Tanzania · Pwani

M5.3 Earthquake near Rufiji, Pwani (Tanzania)

UTC time: 2026-01-20 17:11:39 UTC Local time: —
Earthquake newsQuakeMap24
Archive record · original publication time was not recorded

Automatically generated from measurement data by QuakeMap24. Values may change after further analysis.

Map

M5.3 Earthquake near Rufiji, Pwani (Tanzania) · 2026-01-20 — Map showing the location of the epicenter
M5.3 Earthquake near Rufiji, Pwani (Tanzania) · 2026-01-20 — Map showing the location of the epicenter

About this earthquake

A magnitude M5.3 earthquake was recorded near Rufiji, Pwani (Tanzania) on January 20, 2026 at 17:11 UTC. With a focal depth of about 10 km, this was a shallow earthquake, whose shaking is usually felt more strongly at the surface. Earthquakes of this magnitude can damage poorly built structures.

The data is provided by RESIF and cross-checked across seismological networks.

Details

ID
36652278346d9a7bf5da1a606d493fff55132040
Magnitude
M5.3
Depth
10.0 km
UTC time
2026-01-20 17:11:39 UTC
Local time
—
Country
Tanzania
State
Pwani
City
Rufiji
County
Rufiji
Source
resif
Coordinates
-8.24020, 39.15192
Temperature
24.7°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 10 km (Shallow) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 10 km
Shallow
10 km
10 km — close to the regional average (10 km)
Regional average: 10 km
Why depth matters

Shallow quakes release energy near the surface — shaking is felt more strongly and damage potential is higher.

Depth classes per USGS

Nearby population centers

Distances are straight-line distances from the epicenter. Population data: GeoNames.

PlaceDistanceDirectionPopulation
Ikwiriri37.3 kmNW45'000
Dar es Salaam158.1 kmN5'383'728

GeoNames · CC BY 4.0

Radius · 100 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Mafia AirportTanzania · MFA · HTMA
    67.2 kmStraight-line distance

Source: OurAirports · Dataset date: 2026-10-05

This selection shows geographic proximity, not a hazard zone or confirmed impacts. Distances use recorded site coordinates. Sources & data dates

Subsequent earthquakes nearby

Events recorded after this earthquake within 150 km. They are not automatically classified as aftershocks.

First 6 hours1
First 24 hours1
First 72 hours1
Strongest subsequent eventM5.9
M5.92026-01-20 17:11:42 UTC20.9 kmTanzania

Tanzania

Context for this earthquake

05 Oct 2025 – 05 Oct 2026 · M ≥ 3.0 · 5 Catalogue entries

Sufficiently reliable matching data are not currently available for a direct comparison. The area profile shows the available records and their limitations.

Open seismic profile

Historic earthquake map · Tanzania

Open history map
Explore recent and long-term earthquake activity in this country. Use filters to narrow down by magnitude, depth, and date range.

Country statistics · Tanzania

Country overview
View earthquake KPIs, strongest and latest events, and averages for this country.

Stats (last 24h)

Global (24h)
596
Country (24h)
Tanzania
0
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