Magnitude 5.4 Earthquake on the coast of Tanzania.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 5.4 Earthquake at a depth of 10 km, on the coast of Tanzania, roughly 200 km to the south of Dar es Salaam, slightly after 8.10 pm local time (slightly after 5.10 pm GMT) on Tuesday 20 January 2026. There are no reports of any damage or casualties associated with this event, although it is likely to have been felt locally.

The approximate location of the 20 January 2026 Tanzania Earthquake. USGS.

The western Tanzania lies within the the of the Great Rift Valley, which is slowly splitting the African Plate in two along a line from the Red Sea through Ethiopia, and which includes the great lakes and volcanoes of east-central Africa. This has the potential to open into a new ocean over the next few tens of millions of years, splitting Africa into two new, smaller, continents; Nubia to the west and Somalia to the east.

Movement on the African Rift Valley, with associated volcanoes. Rob Gamesby/Cool Geography.

To the southeast, the island of Madagascar has been moving away from Africa since the Jurassic, forming a series of spreading centres across the Mozambique Channel, which both continue to push the island to the east and exert pressure on the southeastern coast of Africa, contributing to Earthquake activity in the region. 

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Magnitude 6.0 Earthquake in Balıkesir Province, Turkey.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 6.0 Earthquake at a depth of 8.0 km, about 4 km to the southeast of the municipality of Sındırgı in Balıkesir Province, Turkey,  slightly before 10.,50 pm local time (slightly before 7.50 pm GMT) on Monday 27 October 2025. No casualties have been reported following this event, but several buildings damaged during another Earthquake in August are reported to have collapsed. The Earthquake was felt across western Turkey, and in parts of southern Bulgaria.

The approximate location of the 27 October 2025 Balıkesir Province Earthquake. USGS.

Balıkesir Province lies close to the boundary between the Anatolian Plate, to the north, the Aegean Sea Plate (underlying the Peloponnese, Attica, The Cyclades Islands, Crete, the Dodecanese Islands and Turkey to the southeast of the Taurus Mountains) to the west and the African Plate to the south. Northern Greece and the north coast of Turkey lie on the Eurasian Plate. Both countries are highly prone to earthquakes because of this.

To the east the Arabian Plate  is being pushed north and west by the movement of the African Plate, further to the south. This leads to a zone of tectonic activity within the province, as the Arabian and Anatolian plates are pushed together, along the East Anatolian Fault, and past one-another, along the Dead Sea Transform.

Simplified map of the plate movements of the eastern Mediterranean. Univeriteit Utrecht.

This movement also leads to a zone of faulting along the northern part of Turkey, the North Anatolian Fault Zone, as the Anatolian Plate is pushed past the Eurasian Plate, which underlies the Black Sea and Crimean Peninsula  (transform faulting). This is not a simple process, as the two plates constantly stick together, then break apart as the pressure builds up, leading to Earthquakes, which can be some distance from the actual fault zone. 

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At least one fatality following Magnitude 6.1 Earthquake in eastern Turkey.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 6.1 Earthquake at a depth of 10.0 km, about 10 km to the southwest of the municipality of Bigadiç in Balıkesir Province, Turkey,  slightly before 7.55 pm local time (slightly before 4.55 pm GMT) on Sunday 10 August 2025. Sixteen buildings are reported to have collapsed following the event, although the majority are reported to have been derelict before the event, with at least one fatality, an 81-year-old woman who died after being rescued from the remains of a collapsed building, with 29 more people having been injured.

Local residents removing debris from collapsed buildings following an Earthquake in northeast Turkey on 10 August 2025. Bahadir Demirçeriven/AP.

Balıkesir Province lies close to the boundary between the Anatolian Plate, to the north, the Aegean Sea Plate (underlying the Peloponnese, Attica, The Cyclades Islands, Crete, the Dodecanese Islands and Turkey to the southeast of the Taurus Mountains) to the west and the African Plate to the south. Northern Greece and the north coast of Turkey lie on the Eurasian Plate. Both countries are highly prone to earthquakes because of this.

The approximate location of the 10 August 2020 Balıkesir Province Earthquake. USGS.

To the east the Arabian Plate  is being pushed north and west by the movement of the African Plate, further to the south. This leads to a zone of tectonic activity within the province, as the Arabian and Anatolian plates are pushed together, along the East Anatolian Fault, and past one-another, along the Dead Sea Transform.

Simplified map of the plate movements of the eastern Mediterranean. Univeriteit Utrecht.

This movement also leads to a zone of faulting along the northern part of Turkey, the North Anatolian Fault Zone, as the Anatolian Plate is pushed past the Eurasian Plate, which underlies the Black Sea and Crimean Peninsula  (transform faulting). This is not a simple process, as the two plates constantly stick together, then break apart as the pressure builds up, leading to Earthquakes, which can be some distance from the actual fault zone. 

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Magnitude 5.2 Earthquake in Buzău County, Romania.

The Centre Sismologique Euro-Méditerranéen recorded a Magnitude 5.2 Earthquake at a depth of 131 km, roughly 16 km to the north of the town of Nehoiu in Buzău County, in southeast the Muntenia region of Romania, at about 6.40 pm local time (about 2.40 pm GMT) on Monday 16 September 2024. There are no reports of any damage or injuries arising from this event, but it was felt over much of eastern Romania, Moldova, and western Ukraine. This pattern of causing little damage but being felt a considerable distance from the epicentre is typical of deep Earthquakes, the energy of which is dispersed over a wide distance before reaching the surface.

The approximate location of the 16 September 2024Buzău County, Earthquake. USGS.

The Carpathian Mountains of Romania form part of the suture formed when the Tethys Ocean closed during the Mesozoic, joining the continents of Laurasia (to the north) and Gondwana (to the south). The area is now internal to the Eurasian continent, but the area to the south, known as the Moesian Platform, has a separate origin to the rest of Europe. This system is once again being stressed by the impact of Africa into Eurasia from the south, with the Anatolian Plate (which underlies Anatolian Turkey), Aegean Plate (which underlies southern Greece) and Adriatic Plate (which underlies eastern Italy and the western Balkan Peninsula) caught between the two larger units, leading to a more complex interplay of stresses across southeastern Europe. The Anatolian and Aegean Plates are located to the south of the Moesian Platform, and are being pushed to the west, while the Adriatic Plate lies to the west of the Aegean Plate and Moesian Platform, and is being pushed to the northeast.

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Magnitude 5.4 Eearthquake off the coast of Portugal.

The Centre Seismologique Euro-Méditeranéen  recorded a Magnitude 5.4 Earthquake at a depth of 16 km off the west coast  of Portugal, about 68 km to the west of the town of Sines, slightly after  5.10 am local time (slightly after 4.10 am GMT) on Monday 26 August 2024. There are no reports of any damage or casualties associated with this event, though it was felt across the Madeira Islands group, as well as in parts of the Canary Islands.

The approximate location of the 26 August 2024 Earthquake. USGS.

The Earthquake occurred close to the Cape St. Vincent Ridge, which runs along the boundary between the African and European plates to the east of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This is currently an area of expansion, with the two plates moving apart along this part of the boundary and new seafloor being created by the upwelling of magma from the mantle and its extrusion as a new area of crustal material, the Azores Microplate. This is not a smooth process, and can lead to occasional Earthquakes.

The location of the Cape St. Vincent Ridge relative to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Martins et al. 2008.

Witness accounts of Earthquakes can help geologists to understand these events, and the structures that cause them. If you felt this event you can report it to the Centre Seismologique Euro-Méditeranéen here.

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