Reviewed by USGSGreece70y ago
M6.4 earthquake 15 km ESE of Fársala, Greece
Friday, March 8, 1957, 12:21:17 UTC · 39.233°N, 22.542°E
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck 15 km ESE of Fársala, Greece on Friday, March 8, 1957, 12:21:17 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.5 on March 8, 1957.
- Magnitude
- 6.4
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 10 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
60 kilotons of TNT
That is about 4 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 126 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
66 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
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 100 km
USGS lists 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.0 on March 8, 1957. 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 260 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.34 km WNW of Koróni, GreeceOctober 6, 1947 · 275 km S of this epicenter
- 7.2Aegean SeaNovember 8, 1905 · 202 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.07 km SE of Stara Kresna, BulgariaApril 4, 1904 · 287 km N of this epicenter
- 6.97 km NNE of Ágios Nikólaos, GreeceSeptember 26, 1932 · 158 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.86 km W of Stara Kresna, BulgariaApril 4, 1904 · 290 km N of this epicenter
- 6.815 km ENE of Póros, GreeceAugust 12, 1953 · 181 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.77 km NE of Anávra, GreeceApril 30, 1954 · 33 km W of this epicenter
- 6.73 km SW of Kuklis, North MacedoniaMarch 8, 1931 · 239 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 130 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 6,134 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1851M6.6
Vlore (Valona),Berat; Turkey
12 Oct 1851 · 280 km away · intensity XI
2,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1953M7.2
Lixouri-Argostoli (Kephallenia)
12 Aug 1953 · 183 km away · intensity X
476 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1851
Berat
17 Oct 1851 · 280 km away · intensity X
400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1820M6.9
Zakinthos (Zante)
29 Dec 1820 · 200 km away · intensity X
388 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1886M6.8
Triphylie (Peleponese), Philiatra
27 Aug 1886 · 248 km away · intensity X
326 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1767M6.7
Kefalonia
11 Jul 1767 · 210 km away · intensity X
303 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.