M4.6 earthquake 7 km NNE of Metahāra, Oromiya, Ethiopia
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 7 km NNE of Metahāra, Oromiya, Ethiopia at 07:41 local time (04:41 UTC) on 15 Oct 2026, at a depth of 10 km, according to GFZ. The solution is preliminary and may be revised.
Data: GFZ · updated 2026-10-15 04:41 UTC · automatic solution
- Magnitude
- 4.6light
body-wave magnitude (mb) - Depth
- 10 km
- Status
- Automatic
- Origin time
- 2026-10-15 04:41:13 UTC
- Local: 15 Oct 2026, 07:41:13 (Africa/Addis Ababa)
- Epicentre
- 8.950° N, 39.952° E
Circles show this event and others within 30 km from 7 days before to 30 days after. Lines: plate boundaries and GEM active faults. Open on the live map
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Est. shaking |
|---|---|---|
| MetahāraOromiya, Ethiopia · pop. 23,403 | 7 km | VModerate |
| ĀwashĀfar, Ethiopia · pop. 36,500 | 24 km | IVLight |
| GelemsoOromiya, Ethiopia · pop. 34,200 | 64 km | IIIWeak |
| Welench’ītīOromiya, Ethiopia · pop. 31,500 | 65 km | IIIWeak |
| NazrētOromiya, Ethiopia · pop. 456,900 | 87 km | IIWeak |
| Addis AbabaEthiopia · pop. 3,860,000 | 132 km | IIWeak |
| Dire DawaEthiopia · pop. 343,000 | 222 km | INot felt |
| DessieAmhara, Ethiopia · pop. 270,400 | 245 km | INot felt |
Shaking is an estimate from the intensity prediction equation of Allen, Wald & Worden (2012), not an observation. Local ground and buildings can change it by a level or more. Likely felt out to about 85 km.
Every agency's solution
Agencies locate earthquakes with their own stations and methods, so their numbers differ. We match reports of the same event by time, distance and magnitude and show them side by side. The headline uses GFZ.
| Agency | Magnitude | Depth | Epicentre | Time offset | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GFZheadlineGFZ via GEOFON, GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences | 4.6 mb | 10 km | 8.95° N, 39.95° E | – | Automatic |
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How big was it?
Widely felt near the epicentre: rattling windows and objects. Significant damage is unlikely.
It released roughly the energy of 133 t of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step means about 32 times more energy and 10 times larger waves on a seismogram. Depth matters too: at 10 km this was a shallow earthquake, which is felt more strongly at the surface than a deeper one of the same size.
M4.6 releases about 35× the energy of M3.6, and its waves are about 11× taller on a seismogram. Energy: 133 t of TNT vs 3.8 t of TNT.
Each square is the energy of one M3.6. Energy from log₁₀E = 1.5M + 4.8.
Aftershocks and nearby activity
No later earthquakes have been recorded within 30 km so far. Aftershock rates usually fall off roughly in proportion to 1/time.
Did you feel it?
Reports from people help show where shaking was strong. They are anonymous and shown here in aggregate.
Reports on SeismoAtlas
No reports yet.
Event id gfz2026uess. First recorded here 15 Oct 2026, 05:49:39 UTC. Solutions: GFZ (geofon:gfz2026uess). Cite as: SeismoAtlas, “M4.6 earthquake 7 km NNE of Metahāra, Oromiya, Ethiopia”, https://seismoatlas.com/earthquake/gfz2026uess-m4-6-earthquake-7-km-nne-of-metahara-oromiya-ethiopia, data from GFZ.
JSON: /api/v1/events/gfz2026uess. SeismoAtlas is not an official warning service.