EveryQuake

Earthquakes in Libya

161 earthquakes catalogued in and around Libya between 1935 and 2026. Recorded measurements; not a forecast.

Last updated 4 August 2026 · merged from 5 catalogues
No records in the last 30 days.
161
recorded earthquakes
M6.8
largest
1935–2026
record span
3.78
mean magnitude
134
epicentre inside the border

By year

Stacked by magnitude; one column per year.

011221935: 4 (M5+)19351936: 1 (M5+)1939: 3 (M5+)1940: 1 (M5+)1941: 1 (M5+)1942194919561958: 1 (M5+)1963: 1 (M4–5)1963: 1 (M5+)19631967: 1 (M4–5)19701972: 1 (M4–5)1972: 1 (M5+)1974: 1 (M5+)1975: 1 (M3–4)1975: 2 (M4–5)1975: 1 (M5+)1976: 1 (M4–5)19771978: 1 (M4–5)1981: 1 (M4–5)1982: 1 (M5+)1983: 1 (M4–5)19841987: 2 (M4–5)1987: 1 (M5+)1988: 3 (M4–5)1988: 2 (M5+)1990: 1 (M4–5)19911992: 1 (M4–5)1993: 1 (M4–5)1995: 1 (M4–5)1996: 2 (M3–4)19981999: 4 (M3–4)1999: 3 (M4–5)1999: 1 (M5+)2000: 1 (M4–5)2001: 1 (M3–4)2001: 1 (M4–5)2003: 1 (M4–5)2004: 1 (M3–4)2004: 1 (M4–5)2005: 1 (M4–5)20052006: 1 (M4–5)2007: 7 (M<3)2007: 1 (M3–4)2007: 1 (M4–5)2008: 9 (M<3)2008: 5 (M3–4)2008: 1 (M4–5)2009: 12 (M<3)2009: 9 (M3–4)2009: 1 (M4–5)2010: 8 (M<3)2010: 3 (M3–4)2011: 7 (M<3)2011: 1 (M3–4)2012: 1 (M3–4)2012: 1 (M4–5)20122013: 2 (M4–5)2015: 2 (M4–5)2016: 1 (M3–4)2016: 1 (M4–5)2017: 1 (M3–4)2017: 4 (M4–5)2018: 1 (M3–4)2019: 1 (M4–5)20192020: 1 (M3–4)2020: 1 (M4–5)2020: 1 (M5+)2021: 1 (M3–4)2021: 2 (M4–5)2022: 1 (M4–5)2022: 1 (M5+)2023: 3 (M4–5)2024: 3 (M3–4)2024: 2 (M4–5)2025: 4 (M3–4)2025: 3 (M4–5)2026: 2 (M3–4)2026
M<3M3–4M4–5M5+

Read this chart carefully. Rising columns do not mean earthquakes are becoming more frequent. The monitoring network improved over time: the smallest detectable earthquake in Türkiye was about M5.0 in 1966 and is M1.5 today. Earlier years look quiet because small events were not heard, not because they did not happen.

Largest earthquakes

Inclusion rule: the radius widens with magnitude (15 km up to M4, 150 km at M7 and above). This is not a measure of felt shaking or intensity.

MagnitudeDateDepthDistance
6.819.04.1935 15:2315 km579 km
6.520.04.1935 05:1035 km539 km
6.317.08.1982 22:2230.6 km1008 km
6.019.04.1935 20:3135 km547 km
5.720.01.1939 01:2415 km574 km
5.602.01.1940 00:0715 km665 km
5.613.06.1936 00:3235 km886 km
5.623.01.1939 02:2235 km587 km
5.604.03.1941 23:4535 km513 km
5.604.09.1974 06:2910 km843 km
5.619.04.1935 17:5715 km583 km
5.520.01.1939 14:2215 km559 km
5.502.09.1972 14:5313.4 km579 km
5.421.02.1963 17:1425 km798 km
5.328.06.1987 00:5017.3 km1010 km

Latest earthquakes

MagnitudeDateDepthDistance
3.501.07.2026 13:400 km1033 km
3.403.06.2026 00:590 km725 km
4.518.10.2025 21:3610 km1024 km
3.716.09.2025 16:5410 km808 km
3.611.06.2025 22:5469.9 km794 km
3.210.05.2025 17:3510 km847 km
4.507.05.2025 21:0610.7 km637 km
4.329.03.2025 13:1610 km706 km
3.710.01.2025 01:599.7 km774 km
3.204.11.2024 16:257.1 km1065 km
4.819.10.2024 12:0516.5 km693 km
3.215.09.2024 07:220 km803 km
4.327.07.2024 08:1310 km734 km
3.528.05.2024 07:3110.4 km791 km
4.320.09.2023 01:3310 km1005 km
4.102.04.2023 23:4010 km866 km
4.120.01.2023 00:2910 km985 km
4.008.12.2022 09:4610 km893 km
5.212.08.2022 21:3119 km832 km
4.017.04.2021 11:5910 km698 km
4.012.04.2021 20:5310 km981 km
4.112.04.2021 16:3910 km902 km
5.103.06.2020 09:038.3 km1093 km
4.319.02.2020 08:1910 km919 km
4.006.01.2020 20:250 km945 km
4.421.02.2019 02:1910 km832 km
3.825.11.2018 03:187 km1002 km
4.311.11.2017 19:0010 km797 km
4.030.05.2017 16:250 km741 km
4.302.05.2017 09:4310 km972 km
3.818.01.2017 21:4810 km1001 km
4.011.01.2017 07:2719.7 km964 km
4.122.12.2016 23:390 km1113 km
4.017.03.2016 18:3511.2 km566 km
4.203.10.2015 22:4710 km753 km
4.115.01.2015 13:1415.2 km1095 km
4.109.10.2013 17:2210 km792 km
4.811.05.2013 04:4210 km872 km
4.809.02.2012 15:3310 km830 km
3.109.02.2012 15:3310 km814 km
2.619.07.2011 00:23594.3 km371 km
2.703.06.2011 09:030.1 km579 km
2.602.06.2011 14:410 km582 km
2.628.05.2011 22:060.2 km576 km
2.728.05.2011 16:5732 km579 km
2.713.05.2011 12:120 km587 km
2.715.04.2011 11:3031.6 km469 km
3.007.04.2011 07:275 km830 km
2.706.12.2010 13:4430.9 km757 km
2.607.09.2010 11:1815.8 km828 km
3.729.08.2010 14:5411.8 km728 km
2.604.08.2010 16:5524 km610 km
2.629.07.2010 10:334.1 km696 km
2.518.07.2010 11:404.1 km726 km
2.309.06.2010 02:078.9 km725 km
3.001.06.2010 12:2510.2 km728 km
3.530.05.2010 19:382.7 km582 km
2.611.03.2010 10:095 km725 km
2.929.01.2010 10:110 km508 km
5.029.12.2009 11:0810 km734 km

Method and sources

What this page counts
An earthquake appears here when its epicentre is within a magnitude-dependent distance of this place's border: 15 km up to M4, 30 km to M5, 60 km to M6, 100 km to M7, and 150 km at M7 and above. The rule exists because a large earthquake concerns neighbouring provinces too — the 17 August 1999 epicentre was in the Gulf of İzmit, on no province's land at all.
Location precision
Epicentre uncertainty is typically 1–10 km, and larger for older records. That is why this site breaks data down to districts but not to neighbourhoods or villages — the data does not support that distinction.
Magnitude scales
The catalogues use more than twelve magnitude scales (Mw, ML, mb, Md…) and they are not equivalent. Values are shown on the scale the source reported; they are not converted.
Deduplication
The same earthquake is published by several catalogues. Records within 20 seconds and 100 km whose magnitudes differ by no more than 1.2 are treated as one event; the primary record is chosen by catalogue priority.
Updates
Recent earthquakes are fetched from four sources every five minutes. The historical archive is rebuilt infrequently.
Sources
USGS ComCat · ISC Bulletin · AFAD · Kandilli / KOERI · EMSC/CSEM
Reporting an error
If you spot a wrong record, write to us; we verify against the source and correct it.