EveryQuake

Earthquakes in Malawi

225 earthquakes catalogued in and around Malawi between 1919 and 2026. Recorded measurements; not a forecast.

Last updated 4 August 2026 · merged from 5 catalogues
No records in the last 30 days.
225
recorded earthquakes
M6.8
largest
1919–2026
record span
4.33
mean magnitude
211
epicentre inside the border

By year

Stacked by magnitude; one column per year.

016321919: 1 (M5+)1919192819371940: 2 (M5+)1942: 1 (M5+)19461954: 1 (M5+)19551961: 1 (M4–5)1961: 1 (M5+)19641966: 2 (M4–5)1966: 1 (M5+)1967: 3 (M4–5)1973: 6 (M4–5)19731974: 2 (M4–5)1976: 1 (M4–5)1976: 1 (M5+)1977: 1 (M4–5)1978: 3 (M4–5)1979: 1 (M4–5)1979: 1 (M5+)1980: 5 (M4–5)1981: 1 (M4–5)1982: 1 (M3–4)1982: 1 (M4–5)19821984: 3 (M4–5)1985: 2 (M4–5)1986: 1 (M<3)1986: 6 (M3–4)1986: 5 (M4–5)1987: 2 (M3–4)1987: 3 (M4–5)1988: 3 (M4–5)1989: 9 (M3–4)1989: 7 (M4–5)1989: 3 (M5+)1990: 3 (M4–5)1990: 1 (M5+)1991: 1 (M3–4)1991: 1 (M4–5)19911992: 1 (M3–4)1992: 5 (M4–5)1993: 2 (M4–5)1994: 1 (M5+)1995: 1 (M3–4)1995: 1 (M4–5)1996: 1 (M3–4)1996: 5 (M4–5)1998: 1 (M3–4)1998: 3 (M4–5)1999: 2 (M4–5)1999: 1 (M5+)2000: 2 (M3–4)2000: 6 (M4–5)20002001: 3 (M3–4)2002: 1 (M4–5)2002: 1 (M5+)2003: 2 (M4–5)2004: 2 (M4–5)2005: 2 (M4–5)2006: 1 (M3–4)2006: 1 (M4–5)2007: 3 (M3–4)2007: 1 (M4–5)2009: 5 (M3–4)2009: 20 (M4–5)2009: 7 (M5+)20092010: 3 (M3–4)2010: 6 (M4–5)2011: 1 (M3–4)2011: 1 (M4–5)2012: 3 (M4–5)2014: 1 (M4–5)2014: 1 (M5+)2015: 1 (M3–4)2015: 3 (M4–5)2016: 2 (M3–4)2017: 1 (M3–4)2017: 2 (M4–5)2017: 1 (M5+)2018: 1 (M3–4)2018: 4 (M4–5)2018: 2 (M5+)20182019: 1 (M3–4)2019: 3 (M4–5)2020: 1 (M3–4)2020: 4 (M4–5)2021: 2 (M4–5)2022: 1 (M3–4)2022: 4 (M4–5)2022: 1 (M5+)2023: 1 (M4–5)2024: 1 (M3–4)2024: 1 (M4–5)2025: 2 (M3–4)2025: 1 (M4–5)2026: 1 (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
6.809.10.1942 15:4660 km264 km
6.701.05.1919 05:0515 km241 km
6.318.12.1940 03:3915 km281 km
6.310.03.1989 21:4930.7 km50 km
6.018.12.1940 03:3935 km249 km
6.019.12.2009 23:199.4 km364 km
5.908.12.2009 03:089.6 km368 km
5.920.12.1961 12:01346 km
5.706.12.2009 17:3614.3 km356 km
5.717.01.1954 17:3915 km444 km
5.609.03.1989 02:3729.4 km60 km
5.619.09.1976 14:5922.1 km288 km
5.608.03.2018 08:4913.2 km410 km
5.512.05.1999 08:4513.1 km245 km
5.512.12.2009 02:2715.5 km377 km

Latest earthquakes

MagnitudeDateDepthDistance
3.523.01.2026 19:200 km172 km
4.606.07.2025 11:1210 km81 km
3.715.06.2025 06:060 km288 km
3.530.01.2025 10:2333 km131 km
4.924.11.2024 07:5814.6 km222 km
3.804.05.2024 18:0510 km300 km
4.031.03.2023 12:060 km430 km
4.028.12.2022 04:2810 km423 km
4.022.07.2022 08:4410 km199 km
3.905.05.2022 04:0610 km183 km
5.007.04.2022 10:4310 km436 km
4.414.01.2022 09:0810 km381 km
4.207.01.2022 16:4529 km120 km
4.116.12.2021 14:0310 km186 km
4.301.02.2021 01:2910 km173 km
4.029.10.2020 17:2628 km88 km
4.324.08.2020 08:3210 km236 km
4.924.08.2020 07:0310 km240 km
4.211.03.2020 06:1910 km155 km
4.227.01.2020 01:4510 km473 km
4.226.12.2019 22:0710 km431 km
4.218.12.2019 16:0410 km254 km
4.020.06.2019 09:5010 km38 km
4.116.01.2019 22:3110 km433 km
4.323.04.2018 16:1710 km92 km
4.207.04.2018 08:5510 km311 km
4.106.04.2018 12:4310 km413 km
4.118.03.2018 02:0110 km434 km
3.917.03.2018 15:1210 km416 km
5.108.03.2018 09:5210 km412 km
5.608.03.2018 08:4913.2 km410 km
3.214.09.2017 13:3210 km294 km
4.104.09.2017 08:5710 km229 km
4.121.07.2017 14:3110 km127 km
5.224.06.2017 02:38391 km213 km
3.208.10.2016 14:0718 km50 km
3.607.09.2016 04:2410 km189 km
3.625.08.2015 17:4010 km416 km
4.315.08.2015 07:3331.6 km40 km
4.117.06.2015 08:3210 km428 km
4.009.04.2015 01:1010 km415 km
5.231.12.2014 19:477.1 km370 km
4.125.02.2014 06:450 km247 km
4.327.06.2012 03:3510 km200 km
4.114.06.2012 02:4617.3 km260 km
4.513.05.2012 00:0910 km358 km
4.125.09.2011 05:5010 km433 km
3.808.03.2011 20:3110 km213 km
4.228.11.2010 21:4410 km351 km
3.329.10.2010 22:5523.6 km423 km
3.605.09.2010 02:0710 km356 km
4.319.03.2010 11:0910 km230 km
4.102.03.2010 06:3610 km357 km
4.001.03.2010 08:4010 km348 km
4.128.02.2010 20:2910 km352 km
3.513.02.2010 15:2010 km353 km
4.912.01.2010 23:1428.6 km55 km
6.019.12.2009 23:199.4 km364 km
5.512.12.2009 02:2715.5 km377 km
4.111.12.2009 20:0610 km362 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.