Live earthquake check
Earthquakes near Orkney today
Updated
No M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km of Orkney in the last 24 hours The last M2.5+ within 100 km was M3.6 18 km E, 18 days ago.
Was there an earthquake in Orkney just now? This page checks the live USGS catalogue for quakes around Orkney, North West, South Africa and updates every few minutes.
- Last 24 hours
- 0 M2.5+ within 100 km
- Last 7 days
- 0 M2.5+ within 100 km
- Last 30 days
- 1 M2.5+ within 100 km
- Largest in 30 days
- M3.6 18 km E, Oct 7, 2026
- Largest in past year
- M4.2 11 km E, Feb 8, 2026
- Past year count
- 2 M2.5+ within 150 km
- Nearest in 30 days
- 18 km M3.6, Oct 7, 2026
Recent earthquakes near Orkney
USGS recorded 1 earthquake of magnitude 2.5 or more within 100 km of Orkney in the past 30 days, 0 of them in the last 7 days. The most recent was M3.6 18 km E of the city at Oct 7, 14:35 local time (18 days ago).
The average depth was about 5 km and 1 of 1 were shallow (under 70 km), which are the ones most likely to be felt at the surface.
| Time (Orkney) | UTC | Magnitude | Distance | Depth | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 7, 14:35 | Oct 7, 12:35 UTC | M3.6 | 18 km E | 5 km | 17 km E of Orkney, South Africa |
M2.5+ within 150 km, past 30 days, newest first. Times in Africa/Johannesburg.
Largest earthquakes near Orkney in the past year
The strongest earthquake within 150 km of Orkney in the past 12 months was M4.2 on Feb 8, 2026, 11 km E of the city (10 km E of Orkney, South Africa).
With 2 M2.5+ earthquakes in a year (about 0.2 a month), the area around Orkney is occasionally active by global standards. 0 of the ten largest reached M4.5, the level at which damage near the epicentre becomes possible.
| Date | Magnitude | Distance | Depth | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 8, 2026 | M4.2 | 11 km E | 5 km | 10 km E of Orkney, South Africa |
| Oct 7, 2026 | M3.6 | 18 km E | 5 km | 17 km E of Orkney, South Africa |
Was it felt in Orkney?
The largest nearby quake this month, M3.6 at 18 km, was probably felt in Orkney by a rough rule of thumb (an M3 is typically noticed within a few tens of km, an M5 up to a few hundred km; local ground and building type matter a lot).
USGS "Did You Feel It?" received reports for 1 of these quakes: M3.6 on Oct 7, 2026 (1 reports, max intensity 3.4).
If you felt shaking, you can report it to USGS; reports refine the intensity map within minutes.
Tsunami warning status
None of the earthquakes near Orkney in the past year 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.
Earthquakes around the world today
Worldwide, USGS listed 154 earthquakes of M1+ in the last 24 hours; the largest was M6.5 Bonin Islands, Japan region.
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 other cities in South Africa and nearby
Earthquake pages
More live data for Orkney
Data: USGS Earthquake Hazards Program (ComCat), GeoNames (cities, CC BY 4.0).