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M5.9 Earthquake near Tanzania

UTC time: 2026-01-20 17:11:42 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.

Magnitude
M5.9
Depth
28.0 km
Source
USP

Tanzania

Map

M5.9 Earthquake near Tanzania · 2026-01-20 — Map showing the location of the epicenter
M5.9 Earthquake near Tanzania · 2026-01-20 — Map showing the location of the epicenter

About this earthquake

On January 20, 2026 at 17:11 UTC, a magnitude M5.9 earthquake occurred near Tanzania. With a focal depth of about 28 km, this was a shallow earthquake, whose shaking is usually felt more strongly at the surface. Events of this size can cause damage near the epicenter.

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

Details

ID
b82978f703906fb7edae32cdecb667c29ba318ea
Magnitude
M5.9
Depth
28.0 km
UTC time
2026-01-20 17:11:42 UTC
Local time
—
Country
—
Source
usp
Coordinates
-8.22090, 39.34093

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 28 km (Shallow) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 28 km
Shallow
28 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
Kilindoni49.1 kmNE23'426
Dar es Salaam155.6 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
    49.4 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

No unambiguous area assignment

Context for this earthquake

This event has no unambiguous country assignment in the analysed catalogue. It is therefore not assigned to a regional profile.

Earthquake overview

Historical context nearby

Comparison with recorded earthquakes before this event within 150 km.

Magnitude rank#1
Earlier events M≥41
Earlier events M≥51
Compared since2026-01-20

The QuakeMap24 comparison dataset begins on 2024-03-23. Earlier earthquakes may not be included.

Strongest earlier events

M5.32026-01-20 17:11:39 UTC20.9 kmRufiji

Stats (last 24h)

Global (24h)
585
Country (24h)
—
—
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