Reviewed by USGSGreece73y ago
M5.7 earthquake 6 km SSE of Anávra, Greece
Tuesday, May 4, 1954, 16:45:30 UTC · 39.131°N, 22.111°E
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck 6 km SSE of Anávra, Greece on Tuesday, May 4, 1954, 16:45:30 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.8 on May 4, 1954.
- Magnitude
- 5.7
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 15 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
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
84 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
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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.7 on May 25, 1954. 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 248 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 · 259 km S of this epicenter
- 7.2Aegean SeaNovember 8, 1905 · 241 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.97 km NNE of Ágios Nikólaos, GreeceSeptember 26, 1932 · 191 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.815 km ENE of Póros, GreeceAugust 12, 1953 · 146 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.77 km NE of Anávra, GreeceApril 30, 1954 · 12 km N of this epicenter
- 6.73 km SW of Kuklis, North MacedoniaMarch 8, 1931 · 255 km N of this epicenter
- 6.635 km NW of Itháki, GreeceApril 22, 1948 · 158 km W of this epicenter
- 6.617 km NNW of Bilisht, AlbaniaFebruary 18, 1911 · 209 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 123 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 6,151 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1851M6.6
Vlore (Valona),Berat; Turkey
12 Oct 1851 · 256 km away · intensity XI
2,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1953M7.2
Lixouri-Argostoli (Kephallenia)
12 Aug 1953 · 147 km away · intensity X
476 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1851
Berat
17 Oct 1851 · 256 km away · intensity X
400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1820M6.9
Zakinthos (Zante)
29 Dec 1820 · 171 km away · intensity X
388 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1886M6.8
Triphylie (Peleponese), Philiatra
27 Aug 1886 · 229 km away · intensity X
326 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1767M6.7
Kefalonia
11 Jul 1767 · 172 km away · intensity X
303 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.