Reviewed by USGSAlbania117y ago
M6.6 earthquake 17 km NNW of Bilisht, Albania
Saturday, February 18, 1911, 21:35:13 UTC · 40.765°N, 20.892°E
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck 17 km NNW of Bilisht, Albania on Saturday, February 18, 1911, 21:35:13 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.0 on April 4, 1904.
- Magnitude
- 6.6
- Strong · 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
120 kilotons of TNT
That is about 8 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 251 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
256 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Aegean Sea and Eurasian 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
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 100 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 19 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.07 km SE of Stara Kresna, BulgariaApril 4, 1904 · 226 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.86 km W of Stara Kresna, BulgariaApril 4, 1904 · 218 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.59 km E of Stari Bar, MontenegroJune 1, 1905 · 201 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.56 km N of Tríkeri, GreeceJanuary 20, 1905 · 259 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.24 km ESE of Rrëshen, AlbaniaAugust 4, 1905 · 136 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.115 km NE of Bobov Dol, BulgariaOctober 8, 1905 · 266 km NE of this epicenter
- 5.9Montenegro-Albania border regionJune 3, 1905 · 195 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.84 km NE of Makedonski Brod, North MacedoniaApril 30, 1905 · 91 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 68 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 3,836 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1851M6.6
Vlore (Valona),Berat; Turkey
12 Oct 1851 · 105 km away · intensity XI
2,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1851
Berat
17 Oct 1851 · 105 km away · intensity X
400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1767M6.7
Kefalonia
11 Jul 1767 · 280 km away · intensity X
303 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1867M7.2
Cephalonia
4 Feb 1867 · 284 km away · intensity X
223 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1905M6.6
Shkoder
1 Jun 1905 · 183 km away · intensity X
120 deaths$24 million damage
- 1786
Corfu (Kerkira)
5 Feb 1786 · 150 km away
120 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.