Country profile · USGS ComCat
Earthquakes in Malawi
Malawi has catalogued 73 M4+ earthquakes since 2005 (ranked 89th of 187 countries), with the strongest reaching magnitude M6.2.
Malawi ranks 89th of 187 countries by catalogued seismic activity - a country with limited but non-zero seismic activity, averaging about 3 M4+ events a year alongside 2 significant M6+ earthquakes since 1900. The M6+ record here is thin - 2 events in all, so a single quake moves every figure on this page.
- 73
- M4+ events (since 2005)
- 2
- Major M6+ (since 1900)
- M6.2
- Strongest
- ~3
- M4+ per year
The verdict
Malawi is moderately seismically active, above the global median, with 73 M4+ earthquakes logged since 2005 and 2 major M6+ events since 1900, the strongest reaching magnitude 6.2.
- 1989
- busiest year (1 major events)
- 18 km
- average recorded event depth
- 100%
- of events are shallow (<70 km, the most damaging kind)
Average catalogued magnitude is 4.6 - most events are moderate M4-5 tremors that are felt but rarely cause damage. On the M4+ activity ladder Greenland sits immediately above at 77 events and Bosnia and Herzegovina sits immediately below at 69.
USGS ComCat event tape
Event tape MALAWI · Malawi M4+ · 89th/187
Malawi · 73 M4+ · max M6.2 · 2 M6+
- PHOTO 73
- BUSY 89th/187
- SHAL M6.2
- PCT 2
- VS-PEER near Greenland
- COMCAT 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 Malawi
USGS recorded Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) for 2 events in this catalogued record; their average observed intensity was MMI 6.9. These are only events with an observation, not an estimate of future shaking or a safety rating.
- MMI observations
- 2
- Average observed MMI
- 6.9
- 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 Malawi sits in the catalog
Rank 89th of 187 tracked countries (52th percentile by M4+ count since 2005). On the M4+ activity ladder Greenland sits immediately above at 77 events and Bosnia and Herzegovina sits immediately below at 69.
- Greenland - next more active (77 M4+)
- Bosnia and Herzegovina - next less active (69 M4+)
Same M4+ count, broken by peak magnitude
2 tracked countries share Malawi's exact count of 73 M4+ events since 2005. Among that cohort, Malawi ranks 1st of 2 by strongest recorded magnitude (M6.0).
| Country | M4+ count | Strongest |
|---|---|---|
| Malawi (this page) | 73 | M6.0 |
| Uganda | 73 | M5.9 |
1 of 73 catalogued M4+ events since 2005 reached M6.0 or higher.
Magnitude distribution of major events
Breakdown of the 2 significant (M6+) earthquakes on record for Malawi.
M6.0-6.9
2
100.0%
Depth of major earthquakes
Hypocentral depth of the 2 M6+ events, shallow quakes shake the surface hardest. Average depth: 18 km.
Shallow (<70 km)
2
100.0% of events
Intermediate (70–300 km)
0
0.0% of events
Deep (>300 km)
0
0.0% of events
Strongest earthquakes in Malawi
The 2 most powerful events on record (USGS, since 1900).
| Mag | Location | Depth | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.2 | 9 km NNW of Salima, Malawi | 30.3 km | Mar 10, 1989 |
| 6.0 | 23 km SSW of Karonga, Malawi | 6.0 km | Dec 19, 2009 |
Significant earthquake record (2 events)
Every catalogued magnitude-6.0-and-above earthquake in Malawi since 1900, most recent first.
| Mag | Location | Depth | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.0 | 23 km SSW of Karonga, Malawi | 6.0 km | Dec 19, 2009 |
| 6.2 | 9 km NNW of Salima, Malawi | 30.3 km | Mar 10, 1989 |
Other countries in this catalog sample
A Malawi-keyed shuffle of the full 186-country roster, not the six nearest by count.
Peak-magnitude sample from the same roster
A second Malawi-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.