Magnitude 5.0 earthquake 624 km from Rodrigues 20 Aug

A moderate magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck the remote waters of the Indian Ocean along the Mid-Indian Ridge late on August 19, 2025, UTC, according to seismic monitoring agencies. The event, which occurred in an isolated oceanic region, caused no reported damage, injuries, or tsunami threats, highlighting the frequent but often harmless seismic activity in this tectonically active zone.

Event Details

The earthquake was recorded at 21:38 UTC on August 19, 2025, which corresponds to 01:38 local time on August 20 in the GMT+4 time zone. It registered a magnitude of 5.0 on the Richter scale, classified as moderate, capable of causing noticeable shaking near the epicenter but unlikely to result in significant impacts due to its offshore location. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and other sources placed the epicenter at approximately 15.39°S, 66.79°E, at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers. This depth indicates the quake originated in the upper crust, typical for ridge-related events.

The nearest landmass is the island of Rodrigues, part of Mauritius, located about 600 kilometers to the southwest of the epicenter. Rodrigues, with a population of around 43,000, experienced no shaking from the event, and local archives confirm no significant quakes were felt in the area during August 2025. Automated alerts on platforms like X (formerly Twitter) noted the quake but reported no user-submitted felt experiences.

Tectonic Context

The Mid-Indian Ridge is a mid-ocean ridge system forming part of the boundary between the African Plate and the Indo-Australian Plate. This divergent boundary, where tectonic plates are slowly pulling apart, allows magma to rise from the mantle, creating new oceanic crust. Such processes frequently generate earthquakes, most of which are minor to moderate and occur far from populated areas. The region sees regular seismic activity, with this event fitting the pattern of shallow quakes along the ridge