Earthquakes recorded near Beirut lately, from the USGS feed — with the fault story behind them and what to do when the ground shakes on a coast with no siren.
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Lebanon sits astride one of the world's great faults, and Beirut has been shaken — and once even drowned — by it. This page lists earthquakes recorded near the city lately, from the US Geological Survey's global feed, with the fault story behind them and the channels that matter when the ground moves.
No earthquakes recorded near Beirut in the last 60 days.
Nothing of magnitude M2.5 or larger within 400 km of town. USGS data, as of 12 October at 14:49. A quiet spell is normal — the fault story below explains why this is still earthquake country.
If the shaking is long or strong near the sea, move to higher ground
Beirut is a coastal city, and the fault that sent a tsunami into it in 551 AD lies just offshore. There is no local tsunami siren. If an earthquake feels long or strong while you are near the water, don't wait for an alert: move inland and uphill on foot, away from the shore, and stay there until the authorities say it is safe. A tsunami can arrive within minutes of the shaking on this coast.
This page is not an earthquake warning
Every quake here was recorded after it happened — no one can predict earthquakes, and this page cannot warn you of one. What it can do is show what the ground has been doing lately. If you feel a long or violent quake near the coast, act on the advice above without waiting for any alert.
Beirut sits on the Dead Sea Transform, the fault system marking the boundary between the Arabian and African plates that runs the length of Lebanon. Its strands — the Yammouneh, Roum and Serghaya faults inland, and the Mount Lebanon Thrust just offshore — have produced destructive earthquakes throughout the city's history.
The record is long and real. In 551 AD an earthquake of roughly magnitude 7.5 destroyed Beirut and sent a tsunami into the city. On 16 March 1956 the Chim earthquake (about magnitude 5.5) struck the Chouf just south of here, killing 136 people, destroying some 6,000 homes and cracking building fronts in Beirut. On 6 February 2023 the magnitude 7.8 Turkey–Syria earthquake swayed Beirut for about 40 seconds and sent residents into the streets.
The list below is a record of what has already happened near Beirut, drawn from the USGS global feed — never a prediction. Earthquakes cannot be predicted. The global catalogue can miss the smallest local tremors; Lebanon's own monitor, the CNRS National Center for Geophysics, catalogues those and runs the LebQuake app for felt reports and alerts.
Checked 12 October at 14:49. Earthquake data from USGS (U.S. Geological Survey, public domain). Magnitude, depth and felt intensity are revised as analysis improves, and very fresh quakes can take minutes to appear.