Reviewed by USGS118y ago
M5.8 earthquake in Greece
Tuesday, June 15, 1909, 23:30:29 UTC · 39.013°N, 22.801°E
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck in Greece on Tuesday, June 15, 1909, 23:30:29 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.2 on November 8, 1905.
- Magnitude
- 5.8
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
7 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/2 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 14 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
34 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Aegean Sea and Eurasian plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
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
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗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 8 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.2Aegean SeaNovember 8, 1905 · 197 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.56 km N of Tríkeri, GreeceJanuary 20, 1905 · 29 km NE of this epicenter
- 5.79 km E of Filiátes, GreeceApril 4, 1905 · 215 km W of this epicenter
- 5.511 km ESE of Kímolos, GreeceJune 23, 1908 · 300 km SE of this epicenter
- 5.58 km NNE of Mándalo, GreeceNovember 18, 1905 · 219 km N of this epicenter
- 5.520 km WSW of Mílos, GreeceJune 23, 1908 · 290 km SE of this epicenter
- 5.310 km SE of Sárti, GreeceNovember 9, 1905 · 158 km NE of this epicenter
- 5.37 km E of Demir Kapija, North MacedoniaAugust 17, 1907 · 270 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 88 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,556 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1820M6.9
Zakinthos (Zante)
29 Dec 1820 · 195 km away · intensity X
388 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1886M6.8
Triphylie (Peleponese), Philiatra
27 Aug 1886 · 234 km away · intensity X
326 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1767M6.7
Kefalonia
11 Jul 1767 · 219 km away · intensity X
303 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1894M6.7
Locride, Malesina-Martinon (Lokris)
20 Apr 1894 · 57 km away · intensity X
255 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1867M7.2
Cephalonia
4 Feb 1867 · 224 km away · intensity X
223 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1817M6.6
Achaia: Aeghion
23 Aug 1817 · 97 km away · intensity X
128 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.