Reviewed by USGSGreece79y ago
M5.5 earthquake 16 km ENE of Kentrí, Greece
Saturday, March 6, 1948, 20:12:54 UTC · 35.091°N, 25.920°E
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 16 km ENE of Kentrí, Greece on Saturday, March 6, 1948, 20:12:54 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.6 on February 12, 1948.
- Magnitude
- 5.5
- 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
3 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/6 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 5 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
95 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Aegean Sea and African 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 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 104 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.9Southern GreeceAugust 11, 1903 · 283 km W of this epicenter
- 7.315 km NNW of Karpathos, GreeceFebruary 9, 1948 · 128 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.05 km NNW of Kéfalos, GreeceJune 26, 1926 · 210 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.733 km SE of Karpathos, GreeceAugust 13, 1922 · 147 km E of this epicenter
- 6.414 km E of Kardámaina, GreeceApril 23, 1933 · 223 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.452 km SSE of Fry, GreeceAugust 11, 1922 · 113 km E of this epicenter
- 6.329 km SW of Kíssamos, GreeceAugust 30, 1947 · 232 km W of this epicenter
- 6.216 km S of Néa Anatolí, GreeceFebruary 29, 1940 · 37 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 22 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 6,086 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1810
Crete: Iraklion (Candia)
16 Feb 1810 · 95 km away · intensity X
3,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1750
Morea,Cerigo
7 Jun 1750 · 291 km away · intensity X
2,000 deaths
- 1856
Crete; Egypt
12 Oct 1856 · 46 km away · intensity XI
600 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1863M7.8
Rhodes, Kos
22 Apr 1863 · 244 km away · intensity XI
300 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1933M6.4
Dodecanese Islands
23 Apr 1933 · 223 km away · intensity X
181 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1869M7.5
Gulf Of Keramos, Mentese
1 Dec 1869 · 283 km away · intensity X
3 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.