Live earthquake list
Earthquake in South Africa today
Updated
No M2.5+ earthquake in South Africa in the last 24 hours The most recent was M3.6 17 km E of Orkney, South Africa, 18 days ago.
Was there an earthquake in South Africa today? Every earthquake USGS has located in and off South Africa in the last day and week, with the largest of the past year. Updated every few minutes.
- Last 24 hours
- 0 M2.5+
- Last 7 days
- 0 M2.5+
- Last 30 days
- 1 M2.5+
- Largest in 30 days
- M3.6 17 km E of Orkney, South Africa, Oct 7, 2026
- Past 12 months
- 2 M2.5+
- Largest in 12 months
- M4.2 10 km E of Orkney, South Africa, Feb 8, 2026
Earthquakes in South Africa today
No earthquake of M2.5 or more has been located in South Africa in the last 24 hours. Over the past 7 days USGS lists 0, and 1 in the past 30 days (all M2.5+).
Local time is the time zone of the nearest city to the epicentre.
Earthquakes in South Africa in the past 7 days
No M2.5+ earthquake in South Africa in the past 7 days.
Largest earthquakes in South Africa in the past year
USGS located 2 M2.5+ earthquakes in or off South Africa in the past 12 months, 0% of the 28,883 recorded worldwide, or about 0 a week. This week's 0 is below that average. The strongest was M4.2 on Feb 8, 2026 (10 km E of Orkney, South Africa).
| Date | Magnitude | Depth | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 8, 2026 | M4.2 | 5 km | 10 km E of Orkney, South Africa |
| Oct 7, 2026 | M3.6 | 5 km | 17 km E of Orkney, South Africa |
Tsunami warning status
None of the earthquakes in South Africa in the past 30 days carried the USGS tsunami flag, which USGS sets for large quakes in oceanic regions where the tsunami warning centres issue messages.
Official tsunami warnings come from the NOAA tsunami warning centres (tsunami.gov) and national agencies; follow local authorities if you are on a coast after strong shaking.
USGS lists every magnitude in the United States but outside it coverage is complete only from about M4–4.5, so smaller local quakes reported by national agencies may be missing. Magnitudes and locations are revised for hours after an event.
Earthquakes near cities in South Africa
- Earthquakes near Soweto
- Earthquakes near Evaton
- Earthquakes near Vereeniging
- Earthquakes near Welkom
- Earthquakes near Krugersdorp
- Earthquakes near Roodepoort
- Earthquakes near Vanderbijlpark
- Earthquakes near Klerksdorp
- Earthquakes near Carletonville
- Earthquakes near Potchefstroom
- Earthquakes near Westonaria
- Earthquakes near Sasolburg
- Earthquakes near Randfontein
- Earthquakes near Virginia
- Earthquakes near Kroonstad
- Earthquakes near Orkney
- Earthquakes near Johannesburg
- Earthquakes near Tokoza
Earthquakes in other countries
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Data: USGS Earthquake Hazards Program (ComCat), GeoNames (cities, CC BY 4.0).