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South Africa · Limpopo

M3.4 Earthquake near Ba-Phalaborwa Local Municipality, Limpopo (South Africa)

UTC time: 2026-09-08 14:54:33 UTC Local time: —
Magnitude
M3.4
Depth
10.0 km
Source
EMSC

Limpopo · Ba-Phalaborwa Local Municipality

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About this earthquake

A magnitude M3.4 earthquake was recorded near Ba-Phalaborwa Local Municipality, Limpopo (South Africa) on September 8, 2026 at 14:54 UTC. With a focal depth of about 10 km, this was a shallow earthquake, whose shaking is usually felt more strongly at the surface. Shaking of this size is frequently noticed but usually harmless.

The data is provided by EMSC and cross-checked across seismological networks. South Africa: 2 earthquakes were recorded in the past 24 hours, the strongest reaching M2.9.

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

Radius · 50 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Hendrik Van Eck AirportSouth Africa · PHW · FAPH
    31.1 kmStraight-line distance

Source: OurAirports · Dataset date: 2026-09-20

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

South Africa

Context for this earthquake

20 Sep 2025 – 20 Sep 2026 · M ≥ 3.0 · 23 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 · South Africa

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Country statistics · South Africa

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

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