Reviewed by USGSGreece80y ago
M6.3 earthquake 29 km SW of Kíssamos, Greece
Saturday, August 30, 1947, 22:21:37 UTC · 35.343°N, 23.384°E
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 29 km SW of Kíssamos, Greece on Saturday, August 30, 1947, 22:21:37 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.3 on April 22, 1928.
- Magnitude
- 6.3
- Strong · 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
38 kilotons of TNT
That is about 3 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 80 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
26 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 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 88 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.9Southern GreeceAugust 11, 1903 · 81 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.329 km SSW of Asopós, GreeceJuly 1, 1927 · 141 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.32 km NW of Sofikón, GreeceApril 22, 1928 · 276 km N of this epicenter
- 6.35 km NNW of Géfyra, GreeceAugust 30, 1926 · 158 km N of this epicenter
- 6.233 km WSW of Filiatrá, GreeceFebruary 24, 1919 · 268 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.216 km S of Néa Anatolí, GreeceFebruary 29, 1940 · 211 km E of this epicenter
- 6.266 km SSW of Folégandros, GreeceFebruary 25, 1935 · 146 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.129 km ENE of Mesariá, GreeceApril 4, 1911 · 249 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 31 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 6,080 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1810
Crete: Iraklion (Candia)
16 Feb 1810 · 147 km away · intensity X
3,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1750
Morea,Cerigo
7 Jun 1750 · 101 km away · intensity X
2,000 deaths
- 1856
Crete; Egypt
12 Oct 1856 · 238 km away · intensity XI
600 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1886M6.8
Triphylie (Peleponese), Philiatra
27 Aug 1886 · 247 km away · intensity X
326 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1791M7.0
Zante, Gastuni
2 Nov 1791 · 222 km away · intensity X
80 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1846
Messini-Micromani (Messinia)
10 Jun 1846 · 222 km away · intensity X
30 deathsUnder $1 million damage
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.