Reviewed by USGSTurkey83y ago
M5.7 earthquake 20 km SE of Düzce, Turkey
Tuesday, February 1, 1944, 21:24:43 UTC · 40.730°N, 31.355°E
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck 20 km SE of Düzce, Turkey on Tuesday, February 1, 1944, 21:24:43 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.6 on February 1, 1944.
- 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
6 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/3 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 12 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
8 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Anatolian 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 February 2, 1944. 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 51 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.610 km WNW of Orta, TurkeyFebruary 1, 1944 · 139 km E of this epicenter
- 7.56 km SSE of Ilgaz, TurkeyNovember 26, 1943 · 194 km E of this epicenter
- 6.626 km NE of Kaman, TurkeyApril 19, 1938 · 254 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.515 km ENE of İskilip, TurkeyJune 25, 1910 · 276 km E of this epicenter
- 6.4TurkeyJune 20, 1943 · 75 km W of this epicenter
- 6.223 km SE of Yenice, TurkeyMay 2, 1928 · 226 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.231 km NNW of Simav, TurkeyNovember 15, 1942 · 259 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.125 km ESE of Safranbolu, TurkeyJune 9, 1919 · 145 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 30 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 26,730 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1719
Turkey
25 May 1719 · 165 km away · intensity X
6,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1943M7.5
Ladik, Samsun, Havza
26 Nov 1943 · 194 km away · intensity XI
4,020 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1766M6.5
Turkey
22 May 1766 · 198 km away · intensity X
4,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1944M7.6
Turkey
1 Feb 1944 · 139 km away · intensity X
2,381 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1855M6.7
Tayabas, Bursa
28 Feb 1855 · 200 km away · intensity X
2,200 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1754M6.8
Izmit
2 Sep 1754 · 182 km away · intensity IX
2,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.