Reviewed by USGS72y ago
M6.6 earthquake in Turkey
Saturday, July 16, 1955, 07:07:14 UTC · 37.617°N, 27.284°E
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck in Turkey on Saturday, July 16, 1955, 07:07:14 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.3 on March 18, 1953.
- Magnitude
- 6.6
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 15 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
108 kilotons of TNT
That is about 7 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 226 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
86 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Aegean Sea and Anatolian plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
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 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 150 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.37 km N of Gönen, TurkeyMarch 18, 1953 · 286 km N of this epicenter
- 7.315 km NNW of Karpathos, GreeceFebruary 9, 1948 · 220 km S of this epicenter
- 7.29 km NNW of Karaburun, TurkeyJuly 23, 1949 · 141 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.115 km WSW of Burdur, TurkeyOctober 3, 1914 · 250 km E of this epicenter
- 7.03 km ESE of Soma, TurkeyNovember 18, 1919 · 176 km N of this epicenter
- 7.05 km NNW of Kéfalos, GreeceJune 26, 1926 · 97 km S of this epicenter
- 6.815 km SSW of Kaş, TurkeyMarch 18, 1926 · 269 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.7TurkeyOctober 6, 1944 · 219 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 55 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 32,385 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1883M7.3
Ayvalik, Izmir, Cesme
15 Oct 1883 · 122 km away · intensity X
15,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1881M7.3
Khios; Turkey: Cesme
3 Apr 1881 · 115 km away · intensity XI
7,866 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1914M7.0
Burdur, Kilinc, Keciborlu, Isparta
3 Oct 1914 · 264 km away · intensity IX
4,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1875M7.3
Capali, Dinar, Civril, Yaka
3 May 1875 · 262 km away · intensity X
1,300 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1899M6.7
Sultanhisar,Atca,Nazilli,Kuyucak,Denizli
20 Sep 1899 · 141 km away · intensity IX
1,117 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1953M7.3
Yenice, Onon
18 Mar 1953 · 286 km away
1,070 deaths$4 million damage
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.