Reviewed by USGSTurkey122y ago
M5.6 earthquake 6 km NNE of Şanlıurfa, Turkey
Monday, December 4, 1905, 12:20:07 UTC · 37.216°N, 38.830°E
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 6 km NNE of Şanlıurfa, Turkey on Monday, December 4, 1905, 12:20:07 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). USGS received 1 “Did You Feel It?” report, with a maximum reported intensity of V (moderate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.8 on December 4, 1905.
- Magnitude
- 5.6
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 1
- Max intensity V
- Est. shaking
- VI
- Strong (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
3 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/5 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 7 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
108 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Anatolian and Arabian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
15 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
Reports sent by people to USGS, grouped by place (most reports first). Intensity uses the Modified Mercalli scale (I–X): what people felt, not the magnitude.
| Place | Intensity | Reports | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urfa, Şanliurfa, Turkey | V · Moderate | 1 | 16 km |
USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 1 M5.0+ earthquake within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 8 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 27,200 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1822
Antakya; Syria: Halab,Dimashq (Damascus);
13 Aug 1822 · 286 km away · intensity XI
20,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1784
Erzurum,Erzincan
23 Jul 1784 · 282 km away
5,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1872M7.3
Antakya (Antioch), Suedije
3 Apr 1872 · 260 km away · intensity X
1,800 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1893M6.7
Malatya
31 Mar 1893 · 129 km away · intensity IX
400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1822
Dimashq (Damascus), Halab; Cyprus
5 Sep 1822 · 286 km away · intensity XI
Extreme damage ($25M+)
- 1905M6.8
Puturge,Celikhan,Rumkale
4 Dec 1905 · 100 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.