Country profile · USGS ComCat
Earthquakes in Eritrea
Eritrea has catalogued 93 M4+ earthquakes since 2005 (ranked 82nd of 187 countries), with the strongest reaching magnitude M6.6.
Eritrea ranks 82nd of 187 countries by catalogued seismic activity - a country with limited but non-zero seismic activity, averaging about 4 M4+ events a year alongside 3 significant M6+ earthquakes since 1900. The M6+ record here is thin - 3 events in all, so a single quake moves every figure on this page.
- 93
- M4+ events (since 2005)
- 3
- Major M6+ (since 1900)
- M6.6
- Strongest
- ~4
- M4+ per year
The verdict
Eritrea is moderately seismically active, above the global median, with 93 M4+ earthquakes logged since 2005 and 3 major M6+ events since 1900, the strongest reaching magnitude 6.6.
- 1921
- busiest year (1 major events)
- 21 km
- average recorded event depth
- 100%
- of events are shallow (<70 km, the most damaging kind)
Average catalogued magnitude is 4.5 - most events are moderate M4-5 tremors that are felt but rarely cause damage. On the M4+ activity ladder Cuba sits immediately above at 96 events and Trinidad and Tobago sits immediately below at 89.
USGS ComCat event tape
Event tape ERITREA · Eritrea M4+ · 82nd/187
Eritrea · 93 M4+ · max M6.6 · 3 M6+
- BOOK 93
- RANK 82nd/187
- MAX M6.6
- M6 3
- DEPTH near Cuba
- PHOTO 100% shallow
Stamps derive from this country's USGS ComCat row (M4+ book, rank, peak magnitude, M6+ record, ladder neighbour, depth/peak year), not a hazard forecast. PlainQuake is informational only - not professional advice and not a substitute for official USGS guidance. See our disclaimer. Verify with USGS ComCat → · Read with methodology → · How earthquakes are measured → · Reading earthquake data → · All country catalog rows → · Countries ranked →
Observed impact record
What ComCat observed after earthquakes in Eritrea
USGS recorded Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) for 1 events in this catalogued record; their average observed intensity was MMI 5.5. These are only events with an observation, not an estimate of future shaking or a safety rating.
- MMI observations
- 1
- Average observed MMI
- 5.5
- PAGER alerts / tsunami flags
- 0 / 0
Source: USGS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat) GeoJSON impact fields. Missing MMI, alert, and tsunami values remain unreported rather than being treated as zero.
Where Eritrea sits in the catalog
Rank 82nd of 187 tracked countries (56th percentile by M4+ count since 2005). On the M4+ activity ladder Cuba sits immediately above at 96 events and Trinidad and Tobago sits immediately below at 89.
- Cuba - next more active (96 M4+)
- Trinidad and Tobago - next less active (89 M4+)
Same M4+ count, broken by peak magnitude
2 tracked countries share Eritrea's exact count of 93 M4+ events since 2005. Among that cohort, Eritrea ranks 2nd of 2 by strongest recorded magnitude (M5.6).
| Country | M4+ count | Strongest |
|---|---|---|
| Spain | 93 | M6.3 |
| Eritrea (this page) | 93 | M5.6 |
Major (M6+) earthquakes in Eritrea by year
Count of significant (magnitude 6.0+) events catalogued each year
- 1921
1921: 1 major (M6+) events
1
- 1945
1945: 1 major (M6+) events
1
- 1977
1977: 1 major (M6+) events
1
What this shows Eritrea's most active year for major earthquakes was 1921 (1 M6+ events). Major-quake counts are irregular, they track the episodic release of tectonic stress, not a smooth trend.
0 of 93 catalogued M4+ events since 2005 reached M6.0 or higher.
Magnitude distribution of major events
Breakdown of the 3 significant (M6+) earthquakes on record for Eritrea.
M6.0-6.9
3
100.0%
Depth of major earthquakes
Hypocentral depth of the 3 M6+ events, shallow quakes shake the surface hardest. Average depth: 21 km.
Shallow (<70 km)
3
100.0% of events
Intermediate (70–300 km)
0
0.0% of events
Deep (>300 km)
0
0.0% of events
Strongest earthquakes in Eritrea
The 3 most powerful events on record (USGS, since 1900).
| Mag | Location | Depth | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.6 | 144 km NE of Massawa, Eritrea | 33.0 km | Dec 28, 1977 |
| 6.2 | 22 km S of Adi Keyh, Eritrea | 15.0 km | Mar 31, 1945 |
| 6.1 | 160 km NNW of Edd, Eritrea | 15.0 km | Aug 14, 1921 |
Significant earthquake record (3 events)
Every catalogued magnitude-6.0-and-above earthquake in Eritrea since 1900, most recent first.
| Mag | Location | Depth | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.6 | 144 km NE of Massawa, Eritrea | 33.0 km | Dec 28, 1977 |
| 6.2 | 22 km S of Adi Keyh, Eritrea | 15.0 km | Mar 31, 1945 |
| 6.1 | 160 km NNW of Edd, Eritrea | 15.0 km | Aug 14, 1921 |
Other countries in this catalog sample
A Eritrea-keyed shuffle of the full 186-country roster, not the six nearest by count.
Peak-magnitude sample from the same roster
A second Eritrea-keyed shuffle of countries with a recorded max magnitude.
Showing 6 of 186 countries with a recorded max magnitude.
According to the US Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program, PlainQuake's figures are rendered directly from 317,293 recorded M4+ earthquakes and 14,444 significant M6+ events (USGS ComCat, 2005-present) -- no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-26.