M5.6 earthquake near Massawa, Northern Red Sea

What happened

A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck Eritrea on 1 Aug 2023, 17:15 UTC at a depth of 7 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Moderate. Can damage poorly built structures close to the epicentre. This was a shallow earthquake, which tends to be felt more strongly at the surface.

The nearest town in our records is Massawa, about 43 km away in Northern Red Sea, Eritrea.