A total of 14 earthquakes struck close to Malta last month; two were approximately 145km west and south of Malta, and 12 quakes originated from the same fault system 40km south of Malta (red stars, inset map). The earthquakes began on May 21 and remained active till the end of the month.

This southern region is occasionally seismically active as shown in the time-series graph of the past nine years. All the earthquakes in this region had a magnitude of 3.8 or less and are usually unfelt.

If you feel an earthquake-related tremour you may report it to the University’s Seismic Monitoring and Research Unit (SMRU) through http://seismic.research.um.edu.mt .

12 quakes originated from the same fault 40km south of Malta

Across the Mediterranean region a strong earthquake of magnitude 6.9 struck beneath the Aegean Sea on May 24 (largest yellow circle). The earthquake was felt across the sea, affecting Greek islands and cities as far as Sofia in Bulgaria and Istanbul in Turkey. Although no fatalities were reported, around 270 people were hospitalised with various injuries. The main shock was followed by a series of aftershocks in the following days.

The SMRU also recorded the strong seismic waves detected by the seismic station in Wied Dalam. The Aegean Sea earthquake was the strongest global earthquake recorded during May.

Strong earthquakes occur on a daily basis in various parts of the world, in most cases in remote, uninhabited areas. The global map shows last month’s strongest seven earthquakes. These took place in known tectonically active regions such as Fiji, Mexico, and Panama.