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Earthquakes in South Africa

Explore earthquakes recorded within South Africa. Latest events cover Aug 10, 2026 – Sep 8, 2026 UTC; annual statistics and the largest events cover Sep 9, 2025 – Sep 8, 2026 UTC.

Regional statistics

Statistics for the 365-day period Sep 9, 2025 – Sep 8, 2026 UTC.

Recorded events
159
Maximum magnitude
4.4
Average magnitude
2.55

Earthquake map for South Africa

Latest earthquakes

Up to 20 most recent events during the 30-day period Aug 10, 2026 – Sep 8, 2026 UTC.

  1. 2.20 South Africa, Witwatersrand, Gauteng
  2. 3.10 South Africa, Africa, Gauteng
  3. 2.40 South Africa, Africa, Mpumalanga
  4. 3.10 South Africa, Africa, Gauteng
  5. 2.70 South Africa, Africa, Gauteng
  6. 2.10 South Africa, Africa, Gauteng
  7. 2.00 South Africa, Africa, Gauteng
  8. 2.10 South Africa, Africa, Mpumalanga
  9. 2.00 South Africa, Africa, Gauteng
  10. 2.10 South Africa, Africa, Gauteng
  11. 2.50 South Africa, Witwatersrand, Gauteng
  12. 2.20 South Africa, Karoo, Northern Cape
  13. 3.20 South Africa, Africa, Mpumalanga
  14. 3.00 South Africa, Africa, Free State
  15. 2.20 South Africa, Africa, Mpumalanga
  16. 2.10 South Africa, Witwatersrand, Gauteng
  17. 2.70 South Africa, Africa, Gauteng
  18. 2.20 South Africa, Witwatersrand, Gauteng
  19. 2.60 South Africa, Witwatersrand, Gauteng
  20. 2.10 South Africa, Witwatersrand, Gauteng

Largest earthquakes

The 10 largest recorded events during the 365-day period Sep 9, 2025 – Sep 8, 2026 UTC.

  1. 4.40 South Africa, Africa, Free State
  2. 4.40 South Africa, Karoo, Eastern Cape
  3. 4.30 South Africa, Africa, Northern Cape
  4. 4.30 South Africa, Drakensberg, KwaZulu-Natal
  5. 3.80 South Africa, Drakensberg, Eastern Cape
  6. 3.60 South Africa, Africa, Mpumalanga
  7. 3.60 South Africa, Africa, Free State
  8. 3.50 South Africa, Africa, Free State
  9. 3.40 South Africa, Karoo, Northern Cape
  10. 3.40 South Africa, Karoo, Northern Cape

Statistics for the last 5 years

Complete years use 365 or 366 days. For 2,026, the average uses 365 days through Sep 8, 2026.

Date Recorded events Maximum magnitude Events per day
2026 142 3.6 — South Africa, Africa, Mpumalanga 0.389

Country borders and localized names come from Natural Earth. naturalearthdata.com