Reviewed by USGSTurkey60y ago
M5.1 earthquake 6 km SSE of Varto, Turkey
Friday, August 19, 1966, 18:41:14 UTC · 39.127°N, 41.493°E
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 6 km SSE of Varto, Turkey on Friday, August 19, 1966, 18:41:14 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.3 on August 19, 1966.
- Magnitude
- 5.1
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 10 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
773 tons of TNT
That is about 1/19 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 2 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
43 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Anatolian and Arabian plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
10 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 lists 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.3 on August 20, 1966. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 76 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.820 km NNE of Erzincan, TurkeyDecember 26, 1939 · 185 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.918 km ESE of Pasinler, TurkeySeptember 13, 1924 · 96 km N of this epicenter
- 6.813 km NNE of Sincik, TurkeyDecember 4, 1905 · 270 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.814 km NE of Varto, TurkeyAugust 19, 1966 · 17 km N of this epicenter
- 6.814 km ENE of Yedisu, TurkeyAugust 17, 1949 · 82 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.028 km E of Kars, TurkeyMay 1, 1935 · 229 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.04 km NNE of Erzincan, TurkeyNovember 12, 1941 · 185 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.0TurkeyNovember 12, 1934 · 104 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 48 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 65,473 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1939M7.8
Erzincan
26 Dec 1939 · 185 km away · intensity XII
32,700 deaths$20 million damagetsunami
- 1859M6.1
Erzurum
2 Jun 1859 · 88 km away
15,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1784
Erzurum,Erzincan
23 Jul 1784 · 183 km away
5,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1903M6.3
Malazgirt
28 Apr 1903 · 87 km away · intensity X
3,560 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1966M6.8
Varto
19 Aug 1966 · 14 km away · intensity IX
2,394 deaths$20 million damage
- 1840M6.7
Mt Ararat, Aguri, Aralikh; Iran: Maku
2 Jul 1840 · 258 km away · intensity IX
1,049 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.