| Magnitude | 6.0 |
| Alert | Severe |
| Depth | 10.0 km |
| Coordinates | -45.509, -15.180 |
| UTC time | 1981-10-17 14:35:40.850 |
Earthquake details
Saturday, October 17, 1981 Earthquake
The earthquake hit southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge on Saturday, October 17, 1981 at 14:35 UTC with a magnitude of 6.0. The closest known location in the current dataset is Cape Town, about 3123.5 km away. The epicenter is located at longitude -15.180 and latitude -45.509.
| Location | southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge |
| Country | southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge |
| Severity | Severe |
Earthquake map 1981-10-17
Closest countries
The 12 closest cities near the epicenter.
| Cape Town | 3123.5 km |
| Somerset West | 3144.0 km |
| Saldanha | 3145.9 km |
| Kraaifontein | 3150.8 km |
| Atlantis | 3150.9 km |
| Grabouw | 3154.6 km |
| Hermanus | 3154.9 km |
| Vredenburg | 3156.2 km |
| Stellenbosch | 3156.8 km |
| Malmesbury | 3176.2 km |
| Paarl | 3177.7 km |
| Wellington | 3186.4 km |
Nearby earthquakes
The latest 8 earthquakes within 100 km of this epicenter.
M 4.8
southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Unknown · 2026-07-17 13:49 UTC
34.2 km
M 5.2
southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Unknown · 2026-07-04 14:12 UTC
44.6 km
M 4.4
southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Unknown · 2026-06-14 11:17 UTC
86.4 km
M 4.7
southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Unknown · 2026-03-19 06:23 UTC
82.6 km
M 5.1
southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Unknown · 2025-04-01 06:05 UTC
99.1 km
M 4.8
southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Unknown · 2022-05-15 16:03 UTC
84.9 km
M 4.6
southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Unknown · 2021-07-21 18:42 UTC
54.0 km
M 4.7
southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Unknown · 2020-07-24 00:22 UTC
64.3 km
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