Reviewed by USGSLibya121y ago
M5.8 earthquake 155 km N of Al Qubbah, Libya
Saturday, February 2, 1907, 09:04:48 UTC · 34.161°N, 22.230°E
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck 155 km N of Al Qubbah, Libya on Saturday, February 2, 1907, 09:04:48 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.9 on August 11, 1903.
- 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
141 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Aegean Sea and African 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 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 2 M5.0+ earthquakes 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 9 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 5,082 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1810
Crete: Iraklion (Candia)
16 Feb 1810 · 293 km away · intensity X
3,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1750
Morea,Cerigo
7 Jun 1750 · 237 km away · intensity X
2,000 deaths
- 1791M7.0
Zante, Gastuni
2 Nov 1791 · 214 km away · intensity X
80 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1903M7.8
Mitata (Kythera)
11 Aug 1903 · 216 km away · intensity XI
2 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1866M6.8
Ionian Sea, Amalias, Gargalianoi, Kalamai
6 Feb 1866 · 216 km away · intensity VIII
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1842
Maina (Laconia)
18 Apr 1842 · 260 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.