Magnitude 4.2 earthquake strikes Zarzis in southern Tunisia
Tunisia's National Institute of Meteorology recorded a 4.2-magnitude tremor near the coastal town of Zarzis in Medenine Governorate at 14:41 on Wednesday, placing it among the stronger onshore seismic events the country has logged so far this year.
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck the area of Zarzis in Medenine Governorate on Wednesday 1 July, registered at 14:41 local time by the seismological stations of Tunisia's Institut National de la Météorologie (INM).
The INM, which operates Tunisia's national seismic monitoring network under the Ministry of Transport, recorded the tremor as the strongest seismic event to affect the country in the current period. No injuries or structural damage had been reported by early evening.
Zarzis is a coastal municipality in south-eastern Tunisia, lying on the Mediterranean and known as a tourist destination. It has a major port where a park of economic activities is based.
The area sits within a tectonically active zone. Research published in geoscience literature places Zarzis within a north-south pull-apart basin associated with a NW-SE transtensive right-lateral major fault zone along the coastal Jeffara. The region has felt comparable events before: a 4.3-magnitude earthquake struck near Zarzis in May 2017 at a depth of 10 km.
Since the start of 2026, Tunisia has been shaken by three earthquakes of magnitude 4.0 or above, ten between 3.0 and 4.0, and 27 between 2.0 and 3.0, according to seismic aggregator data drawing on international monitoring networks.
Magnitude-4 or stronger earthquakes occur in Tunisia on average around 3.3 times per year. Tunisia has relatively few earthquakes overall; however, the country has had at least two quakes above magnitude 6 since 1900, suggesting that larger events occur infrequently, approximately once every 60 to 65 years.
The INM has not yet published further technical detail, including epicentre depth. Residents and visitors in the Zarzis and Medenine area who felt the tremor are encouraged to report observations through the INM's official channels.