Reviewed by USGSGreece62y ago
M6.8 earthquake 6 km SW of Galaxídhion, Greece
Wednesday, March 31, 1965, 09:47:29 UTC · 38.339°N, 22.326°E
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck 6 km SW of Galaxídhion, Greece on Wednesday, March 31, 1965, 09:47:29 UTC, at a depth of 60.7 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.8 on August 12, 1953.
- Magnitude
- 6.8
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 61 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- 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
239 kilotons of TNT
That is about 16 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 501 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
1 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
61 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 309 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.9Southern GreeceAugust 11, 1903 · 267 km S of this epicenter
- 7.34 km WNW of Koróni, GreeceOctober 6, 1947 · 174 km S of this epicenter
- 7.2Aegean SeaNovember 8, 1905 · 278 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.97 km NNE of Ágios Nikólaos, GreeceSeptember 26, 1932 · 251 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.815 km ENE of Póros, GreeceAugust 12, 1953 · 122 km W of this epicenter
- 6.7Ionian SeaNovember 15, 1959 · 163 km W of this epicenter
- 6.77 km NE of Anávra, GreeceApril 30, 1954 · 100 km N of this epicenter
- 6.635 km NW of Itháki, GreeceApril 22, 1948 · 168 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 124 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 5,677 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1750
Morea,Cerigo
7 Jun 1750 · 245 km away · intensity X
2,000 deaths
- 1953M7.2
Lixouri-Argostoli (Kephallenia)
12 Aug 1953 · 133 km away · intensity X
476 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1820M6.9
Zakinthos (Zante)
29 Dec 1820 · 115 km away · intensity X
388 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1886M6.8
Triphylie (Peleponese), Philiatra
27 Aug 1886 · 148 km away · intensity X
326 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1767M6.7
Kefalonia
11 Jul 1767 · 163 km away · intensity X
303 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1894M6.7
Locride, Malesina-Martinon (Lokris)
20 Apr 1894 · 81 km away · intensity X
255 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.