Reviewed by USGSGreece71y ago
M5.7 earthquake 58 km SE of Emporeío, Greece
Monday, July 30, 1956, 10:40:00 UTC · 36.000°N, 25.917°E
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck 58 km SE of Emporeío, Greece on Monday, July 30, 1956, 10:40:00 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.1 on July 30, 1956.
- Magnitude
- 5.7
- 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
5 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/3 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 10 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
195 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 154 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.9Southern GreeceAugust 11, 1903 · 262 km W of this epicenter
- 7.719 km SSE of Amorgós, GreeceJuly 9, 1956 · 74 km N of this epicenter
- 7.315 km NNW of Karpathos, GreeceFebruary 9, 1948 · 119 km E of this epicenter
- 7.05 km NNW of Kéfalos, GreeceJune 26, 1926 · 127 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.733 km SE of Karpathos, GreeceAugust 13, 1922 · 162 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.6TurkeyJuly 16, 1955 · 217 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.546 km SSE of Kastrí, GreeceDecember 17, 1952 · 222 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.439 km SSW of Tympáki, GreeceJuly 24, 1948 · 184 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 43 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 29,205 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1883M7.3
Ayvalik, Izmir, Cesme
15 Oct 1883 · 257 km away · intensity X
15,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1881M7.3
Khios; Turkey: Cesme
3 Apr 1881 · 252 km away · intensity XI
7,866 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1810
Crete: Iraklion (Candia)
16 Feb 1810 · 100 km away · intensity X
3,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1750
Morea,Cerigo
7 Jun 1750 · 263 km away · intensity X
2,000 deaths
- 1856
Crete; Egypt
12 Oct 1856 · 56 km away · intensity XI
600 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1863M7.8
Rhodes, Kos
22 Apr 1863 · 195 km away · intensity XI
300 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.