Reviewed by USGSAlbania67y ago
M6.2 earthquake 11 km SSW of Maliq, Albania
Thursday, May 26, 1960, 05:10:16 UTC · 40.619°N, 20.629°E
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck 11 km SSW of Maliq, Albania on Thursday, May 26, 1960, 05:10:16 UTC, at a depth of 20.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.4 on March 8, 1957.
- Magnitude
- 6.2
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 20 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VII
- Very 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
32 kilotons of TNT
That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 68 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
238 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
20 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 219 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 · 253 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.97 km NNE of Ágios Nikólaos, GreeceSeptember 26, 1932 · 265 km E of this epicenter
- 6.86 km W of Stara Kresna, BulgariaApril 4, 1904 · 246 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.815 km ENE of Póros, GreeceAugust 12, 1953 · 272 km S of this epicenter
- 6.77 km NE of Anávra, GreeceApril 30, 1954 · 203 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.73 km SW of Kuklis, North MacedoniaMarch 8, 1931 · 189 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.635 km NW of Itháki, GreeceApril 22, 1948 · 227 km S of this epicenter
- 6.617 km NNW of Bilisht, AlbaniaFebruary 18, 1911 · 27 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 105 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 5,116 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1851M6.6
Vlore (Valona),Berat; Turkey
12 Oct 1851 · 80 km away · intensity XI
2,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1953M7.2
Lixouri-Argostoli (Kephallenia)
12 Aug 1953 · 258 km away · intensity X
476 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1851
Berat
17 Oct 1851 · 80 km away · intensity X
400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1767M6.7
Kefalonia
11 Jul 1767 · 262 km away · intensity X
303 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1867M7.2
Cephalonia
4 Feb 1867 · 266 km away · intensity X
223 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1920M6.2
Tepelene, Dragoti, Peshtani, Maricaj
26 Nov 1920 · 71 km away · intensity XI
200 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.