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Ethiopia

M5.6 Earthquake near 53 km NE of Mek'ele, Ethiopia (Ethiopia)

UTC time: 2025-10-11 16:18:26 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

M5.6 Earthquake near 53 km NE of Mek'ele, Ethiopia (Ethiopia) · 2025-10-11 — Map showing the location of the epicenter
M5.6 Earthquake near 53 km NE of Mek'ele, Ethiopia (Ethiopia) · 2025-10-11 — Map showing the location of the epicenter

About this earthquake

A magnitude M5.6 earthquake was recorded near 53 km NE of Mek'ele, Ethiopia (Ethiopia) on October 11, 2025 at 16:18 UTC. With a focal depth of about 10 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 USGS and cross-checked across seismological networks.

Details

ID
d87f6cb669db67596d03f473a7868da433aa2f1f
Magnitude
M5.6
Depth
10.0 km
UTC time
2025-10-11 16:18:26 UTC
Local time
—
Country
Ethiopia
City
afar kǝlǝl Afar ʿfr
Source
usgs
Coordinates
13.79020, 39.86630
Temperature
19.2°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 — shallower than the regional average (13.8 km)
Regional average: 13.8 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
Wik’ro28.4 kmW64'000
Mek'ele53.4 kmSW457'900
Asmara199.3 kmNW563'930

GeoNames · CC BY 4.0

Volcanoes nearby

  • Gada Ale
    Distance: 62 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 287 m ·Ethiopia
  • Dallol
    Distance: 69 km ·Explosion crater(s) ·Elevation: -48 m ·Last eruption: 2011 ·Ethiopia
  • Alu-Dalafilla
    Distance: 74 km ·Fissure vent(s) ·Elevation: 578 m ·Last eruption: 2008 ·Ethiopia
  • Bora Ale
    Distance: 80 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 668 m ·Ethiopia
  • Ale Bagu
    Distance: 88 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 988 m ·Ethiopia
  • Erta Ale
    Distance: 89 km ·Shield ·Elevation: 585 m ·Last eruption: 2025 ·Ethiopia

Radius · 100 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Mekele Alula Aba Nega AirportEthiopia · MQX · HAMK
    50.8 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 hours8
First 24 hours9
First 72 hours9
Strongest subsequent eventM5.1
M5.12025-10-11 16:18:28 UTC11.9 kmEvent of magnitude 5.1, near of Al Hudaydah (Monde) M4.72025-10-11 18:38:21 UTC9.7 kmEthiopia M4.82025-10-11 18:38:22 UTC24.9 kmETHIOPIA M4.92025-10-11 19:30:00 UTC9.1 kmEthiopia M4.92025-10-11 19:30:00 UTC16.2 kmETHIOPIA M4.32025-10-11 21:23:13 UTC18.7 kmETHIOPIA M4.52025-10-11 21:41:29 UTC7.4 km51 km NE of Mek'ele, Ethiopia M4.72025-10-11 21:41:29 UTC16.0 kmEthiopia M4.52025-10-11 23:57:04 UTC10.1 kmEthiopia M4.22025-10-14 20:22:40 UTC6.1 kmETHIOPIA M4.72025-10-14 20:22:41 UTC12.5 kmEthiopia M4.32025-10-17 05:43:06 UTC1.7 km54 km NE of Mek'ele, Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Context for this earthquake

05 Oct 2025 – 05 Oct 2026 · M ≥ 3.0 · 43 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

Historical context nearby

Comparison with recorded earthquakes before this event within 150 km.

Magnitude rank#1
Earlier events M≥415
Earlier events M≥59
Compared since2025-03-02

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

Strongest earlier events

M5.52025-10-11 16:18:24 UTC0.0 km53 km NE of Mekele, Ethiopia M5.42025-10-11 16:02:01 UTC5.9 km M5.32025-10-11 16:02:00 UTC8.1 km58 km NE of Mek'ele, Ethiopia M5.32025-10-11 16:02:00 UTC7.2 kmETHIOPIA M5.32025-10-11 16:01:59 UTC5.5 kmEthiopia

Historic earthquake map · Ethiopia

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 · Ethiopia

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

Stats (last 24h)

Global (24h)
601
Country (24h)
Ethiopia
0
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No recent events available.

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