Moderate mag. 4.7 earthquake – 5.7 km south of Āwash, Āfar, Ethiopia, on Thursday, Jan 16, 2025, at 11:24 pm (Addis Ababa time)

Mag. 4.7 earthquake – 4 km SSW of Āwash, Ethiopia, on Thursday, Jan 16, 2025, at 11:24 pm (Addis Ababa time) –

Updated: Jan 17, 2025 03:16 GMT – 12 minutes ago refresh

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Moderate magnitude 4.7 earthquake at 10 km depth

16 Jan 20:25 UTC: First to report: VolcanoDiscovery after 1 minute.
16 Jan 21:12: Now using data updates from EMSC
16 Jan 21:24: Magnitude recalculated from 5.0 to 4.7.
16 Jan 21:24: Now using data updates from USGS

Update Thu, 16 Jan 2025, 20:27

Seismic-like event, possible earthquake, reported few minutes ago near Addis Ababa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Unconfirmed quake or seismic-like event reported: Near Addis Ababa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 5 minutes ago

We are receiving unverified early reports of ground shaking possibly caused by seismic activity in or near Addis Ababa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 16 Jan 2025 (GMT) at approximately 20:21 GMT.
There are no details yet on the magnitude or depth of this possible quake. If confirmed, we can expect more accurate data to emerge in the next few minutes. The location, magnitude and time mentioned are indicative, based on our best-fit seismic model. They are temporary until our AllQuakes monitoring service receives more exact scientific data from a national or international seismological agency. Check back here shortly and stay safe.

If you were or still are in this area during the quake help others with your feedback and report it here.

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I didn’t feel it

I felt this quake

Earthquake details

Date & time	Jan 16, 2025 20:24:27 UTC – 7 hours ago
Local time at epicenter	Thursday, Jan 16, 2025, at 11:24 pm (Africa/Addis Ababa GMT +3)
Status	Confirmed (manually revised)
Magnitude	4.7
Depth	10 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude	8.9445°N / 40.153°E Āfar, Ethiopia
Seismic antipode	8.9445°S / 139.847°W French Polynesia
Shaking intensity	V Moderate shaking near epicenter
Felt	24 reports
Primary data source	USGS (United States Geological Survey)
Nearest volcano	Fantale (25 km / 16 mi)
Weather at epicenter at time of quake	Few Clouds 20.5°C (69 F), humidity: 37%, wind: 1 m/s (1 kts) from N
Estimated seismic energy released	7.1 x 10¹¹ joules (197 megawatt hours, equivalent to 169 tons of TNT) \| about seismic energy

500 km

500 mi

+−

Leaflet | © Esri— Sources: GEBCO, NOAA, CHS, OSU, UNH, CSUMB, National Geographic, DeLorme, NAVTEQ, and Esri

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Most recent quakes Top 20 past 24 hrs Quakes in Ethiopia

Nearby places

The closest larger town where the quake might have been felt is Āwash, a town with 37,000 inhabitants in Ethiopia, in 5.7 km (3.5 mi) distance north of the epicenter. People likely experienced moderate shaking there. In the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, 155 km (96 mi) away from the epicenter, the earthquake was probably felt as very weak shaking.
The following table shows some of the places that might have been affected (or not) by the shaking.

Distance	Place	Max. shaking intensity(*)	Region	Country
6 km (4 mi)N of epicenter	Āwash(pop: 36,500)	V: Moderate	Āfar	Ethiopia
26 km (16 mi)W of epicenter	Metehara(pop: 23,400)	IV: Light	Oromiya	Ethiopia
42 km (26 mi)E of epicenter	Gelemso(pop: 16,100)	IV: Light	Oromiya	Ethiopia
69 km (43 mi)E of epicenter	Bedēsa(pop: 17,500)	III: Weak	Oromiya	Ethiopia
80 km (50 mi)E of epicenter	Āsbe Teferī(pop: 30,800)	III: Weak	Oromiya	Ethiopia
101 km (63 mi)SW of epicenter	Sīrē(pop: 10,100)	III: Weak	Oromiya	Ethiopia
106 km (66 mi)NW of epicenter	Debre Birhan(pop: 57,800)	III: Weak	Amhara	Ethiopia
107 km (66 mi)SW of epicenter	Nazrēt(pop: 214,000)	III: Weak	Oromiya	Ethiopia
108 km (67 mi)E of epicenter	Hīrna(pop: 12,300)	III: Weak	Oromiya	Ethiopia
109 km (68 mi)NW of epicenter	Debre Sīna(pop: 9,410)	III: Weak	Amhara	Ethiopia
110 km (69 mi)SW of epicenter	Wenjī(pop: 17,100)	III: Weak	Oromiya	Ethiopia
117 km (73 mi)N of epicenter	Abomsa(pop: 15,300)	III: Weak	Amhara	Ethiopia
120 km (75 mi)W of epicenter	Mojo(pop: 34,500)	III: Weak	Oromiya	Ethiopia
125 km (78 mi)SW of epicenter	Huruta(pop: 12,400)	III: Weak	Oromiya	Ethiopia
126 km (78 mi)W of epicenter	Sendafa(pop: 7,330)	III: Weak	Oromiya	Ethiopia
131 km (81 mi)W of epicenter	Bishoftu(pop: 197,600)	III: Weak	Oromiya	Ethiopia
146 km (91 mi)N of epicenter	Gewanē(pop: 11,300)	III: Weak	Āfar	Ethiopia
147 km (92 mi)E of epicenter	Deder(pop: 8,880)	II: Very weak	Oromiya	Ethiopia
155 km (96 mi)W of epicenter	Addis Ababa(pop: 2,757,700)	II: Very weak	Addis Ababa	Ethiopia
169 km (105 mi)W of epicenter	Sebeta(pop: 19,500)	II: Very weak	Oromiya	Ethiopia
182 km (113 mi)W of epicenter	Holeta(pop: 23,800)	II: Very weak	Oromiya	Ethiopia
183 km (113 mi)NW of epicenter	Fichē(pop: 25,800)	II: Very weak	Oromiya	Ethiopia
194 km (121 mi)SW of epicenter	Ziway(pop: 49,400)	II: Very weak	Oromiya	Ethiopia
200 km (124 mi)N of epicenter	Kemisē(pop: 23,900)	II: Very weak	Amhara	Ethiopia
201 km (125 mi)E of epicenter	Dire Dawa(pop: 252,300)	II: Very weak	Dire Dawa	Ethiopia
210 km (130 mi)S of epicenter	Ghinnir(pop: 16,800)	II: Very weak	Oromiya	Ethiopia
215 km (133 mi)NW of epicenter	Gebre Guracha(pop: 16,600)	II: Very weak	Oromiya	Ethiopia
215 km (134 mi)S of epicenter	Goba(pop: 34,400)	II: Very weak	Oromiya	Ethiopia
217 km (135 mi)SW of epicenter	Butajīra(pop: 30,500)	II: Very weak	SNNPR	Ethiopia
220 km (137 mi)E of epicenter	Kharar(pop: 90,200)	II: Very weak	Harari	Ethiopia
230 km (143 mi)SW of epicenter	Āsasa(pop: 23,800)	II: Very weak	Oromiya	Ethiopia
242 km (150 mi)N of epicenter	Cambolcia(pop: 125,700)	II: Very weak	Amhara	Ethiopia
245 km (152 mi)W of epicenter	Walliso(pop: 38,400)	II: Very weak	Oromiya	Ethiopia
250 km (155 mi)N of epicenter	Dessie(pop: 136,100)	II: Very weak	Amhara	Ethiopia
250 km (156 mi)N of epicenter	Batī(pop: 19,300)	II: Very weak	Amhara	Ethiopia
253 km (157 mi)W of epicenter	Hāgere Hiywet(pop: 43,900)	II: Very weak	Oromiya	Ethiopia
259 km (161 mi)SW of epicenter	Shashamane(pop: 85,900)	II: Very weak	Oromiya	Ethiopia
279 km (173 mi)SW of epicenter	Awasa(pop: 133,100)	II: Very weak	SNNPR	Ethiopia
294 km (183 mi)E of epicenter	Jijiga(pop: 56,800)	II: Very weak	Somali	Ethiopia
297 km (184 mi)SW of epicenter	Hosa’ina(pop: 76,000)	II: Very weak	SNNPR	Ethiopia

Notes:
(*) Shaking intensity according to the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale (MMI) and estimated using seismic models.

User-reports for this quake (24)

The first report about ground shaking reached us after only 1 minute, before other agencies reported it. So far, we have received 24 reports for this quake from Ethiopia. The quake was reported to have been felt in up to approx. 160 km (99 mi) distance, with isolated cases to have felt the quake even 161 km (100 mi) away.

The majority of reports came from Addis Ababa (22 reports), the capital of Ethiopia with 2,800,000 inhabitants in 155 km (96 mi) distance west of the epicenter, Sebeta (1 report), a town with 20,000 inhabitants in Oromiya in 169 km (105 mi) distance west of the epicenter, and Sendafa (1 report) (126 km or 78 mi to the west). See the list of places where most people reported this quake further below.
This section is being updated as new data comes in.

User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.

Contribute:
Leave a comment if you find a particular report interesting or want to add to it.
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Adiss ababa (147.8 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / single lateral shake / 2-5 s

Addis Ababa (150.7 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) (reported through our app)

Addis Ababa (156.7 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 10-15 s

Addis Ababa (155 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 10-15 s

near Addis Ababa (157.2 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) (reported through our app)

Addis Ababa (154.2 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s

Sheger, Tuludimtu (154.6 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s

near Addis Ababa (156.5 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) (reported through our app)

Summit (146.5 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III)

near Sendafa, Oromiya (129.1 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 2-5 s : Weak shaking around semit

Addis Ababa (144.7 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

Megenagna (154.6 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

Addis Ababa (150.2 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) (reported through our app)

Addis Ababa (158.5 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) (reported through our app)

Summit Addis Ababa (154.6 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s

Sheger city,tulu dimtu (154.6 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III)

near Addis Ababa (142.1 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 30-60 s : weak up from sleeping, swing door key… (reported through our app)

near Addis Ababa (142.3 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) (reported through our app)

Sebeta, Oromiya (160.8 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) (reported through our app)

Addis ababa (159.2 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : very weak

Addis Ababa (144.7 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III)

Addis Ababa (150.7 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : I felt vibration

Addis Ababa (158 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) (reported through our app)

Addis Ababa (147.4 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) (reported through our app)

List of cities/places with most reports

Place	Distance from epicenter	Average reported Shaking Intensity	Nr. of reports
Addis Ababa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia(Pop.: 2,757,729)	155 km (96 mi)W of epicenter	III: Weak shaking	22
Sebeta, Oromiya, Ethiopia(Pop.: 19,533)	169 km (105 mi)W of epicenter	III: Weak shaking	1
Sendafa, Oromiya, Ethiopia(Pop.: 7,326)	126 km (78 mi)W of epicenter	III: Weak shaking	1

Note: Only reports with latitude/longitude coordinate positions given (24 in total) could be used for statistics.

What is Intensity and the Mercalli Intensity Scale?

The amount of shaking that occurs on the surface due to an earthquake is called the intensity. It is commonly measured on the so-called Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale (MMI) ranging from 1 (not felt) to 10 (extreme shaking), and given in Roman numerals as I,II,…IX, X, and often displayed with color codes ranging from light blue to dark red.
Earthquake intensity depends mainly on the magnitude and depth of the quake as well as the distance from the epicenter: The further away, the less shaking intensity occurs.
Read more about the MMI scale!

Number of reports by intensity

Shaking intensity	Number of reports	Min-Max distance from epicenter (*)	Average distance (*)
II: Very weak shaking	4	155–159 km (96–99 mi)	157 km (97 mi)
III: Weak shaking	10	129–161 km (80–100 mi)	149 km (93 mi)
IV: Light shaking	9	142–158 km (88–98 mi)	152 km (94 mi)

Notes
(*) Reports are filtered to exclude those that are likely highly inaccurate or esaggerated.
Only reports with latitude/longitude coordinate positions given (24 in total) could be used for geographic statistics.

I didn’t feel it

I felt this quake

If you were near the epicenter and felt it, please share your experience and submit a short “I felt it” report! Other users would love to hear about it!
If you did NOT feel the quake although you were in the area, please report it as well! Your contribution is valuable to earthquake science and seismic hazard analysis.

Compare Quake Data

Data for the same earthquake as reported by different agencies

The more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision.

Mag	Depth	Time GMT2025-01-16	Epicenter	Agency
4.7	10 km6.2 mi(*)	20:24:27	4 km SSW of Āwash, Ethiopia	USGS (United States Geological Survey)
4.7	10 km6.2 mi(*)	20:24:29	Ethiopia16 km (10 mi) epicenter difference with USGS	EMSC (European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre)
4.7	10 km6.2 mi(*)	20:24:27	Ethiopia0 km (0 mi) epicenter difference with USGS	IRIS (Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology)

Notes:
(*) A depth given as 10 km often means that the the depth of the quake could be not determined with sufficient accuracy.

Seismograms

Seismic station: Mt. Furi, Ethiopia (FURI/IU network) | Distance from quake: 162 km / 101 mi | Show on map | Station Info

Seismogram (vertical component) around time of quake. Thin dotted red line indicates time of quake. Seismic waves arrive some time later, depending on distance. Bandpass filter applied: 0.2-10.0 Hz. Source: IRIS Buffer of Uniform Data (BUD) webtool

Aftershocks for this quake

No aftershocks have been recorded so far. When aftershocks are detected, we will update this section.

What are aftershocks?

Larger earthquakes (above magnitude 5 or so) such as this one are usually followed by smaller ones known as aftershocks that occur in the same area during the days, weeks, months or even years after the main shock.

[More info]

What about this quake?

Based on its magnitude, the fault that was active during the quake likely ruptured beneath a surface of approx. 5 km² (=2 sqare miles) as a first-order estimate. The length of the rupture zone thus was probably around 4 km (2 mi).

[More info]

Recorded aftershocks, latest first (0 quake)

Date and Time GMT	Mag Depth	Distance	Region	Details
Jan 16, 2025 11:24 pm (Addis Ababa) 7 hours ago – felt	4.7 10 km	0 km – This quake	4 km SSW of Āwash, EthiopiaMain Shock (this quake)	More

Map of aftershocks

Earthquake statistics

Average number of earthquakes

Based on data from the past 15 years and our earthquake archive back to 1900, there are about 17 quakes on average per year in the area near the epicenter of this quake (within 100 km/61 mi):

Mag. 6 or higher: 0.02 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 62.5 years)
Mag. 5 or higher: 0.55 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 1.8 years)
Mag. 4 or higher: 16.4 quakes per year
Mag. 3 or higher: 16.4 quakes per year
Mag. 2 or higher: 16.4 quakes per year

The area where this quake occurred has a high level of seismic activity. It has had at least 2 quakes above magnitude 6 since 1900, which suggests that larger earthquakes of this size occur infrequently, probably on average approximately every 60 to 65 years.

Number of quakes per year

Year	—
Earthquakes M2+	—
Earthquakes M3+	—
Earthquakes M4+	—

Previous quakes in the same area of this earthquake

No significant quakes had occurred near this quake’s epicenter during the 10 years prior to the earthquake.

Strongest in 32 years

The earthquake was the strongest to hit this part of Ethiopia in over 32 years. Earlier, the last quake of equal or greater strength near the present epicenter had been a magnitude 5.3 earthquake on Saturday, Feb 13, 1993, at 05:25 am local time (Africa/Addis Ababa GMT +3) in 115 km (72 mi) distance to the southwest:

Mag. 5.3 earthquake Ethiopia – Feb 13, 1993 – 32 years agoBelow is a list and map of (larger or recent) quakes that had occurred near the area of the epicenter before this earthquake (within up to 100 km/61 mi distance, up to 300 km/183 mi for very large quakes above mag. 7). Filter the list to limit the number to show, by magnitude or time before. Max results10 2050100 All Magnitude All2+ 3+4+5+ 6+7+8+ Time before 48 hours 1 week 30 days 1 year 5 years 30 years Any age

Date and Time	Mag Depth	Distance	Location	Details	Map
Feb 13, 1993 05:25 am (Addis Ababa)32 years ago	5.3 12 km	115 km (72 mi) to the SW	Ethiopia	Info
Aug 14, 1985 11:37 pm (Addis Ababa)39 years ago	4.9 33 km	193 km (120 mi) to the W	SNNPR, 84 km south of Addis Ababa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia	Info