Reviewed by USGS85y ago
M6.0 earthquake in Turkey
Friday, December 11, 1942, 02:39:16 UTC · 40.941°N, 35.080°E
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck in Turkey on Friday, December 11, 1942, 02:39:16 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.2 on July 30, 1940.
- Magnitude
- 6.0
- 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
15 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 32 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
15 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 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 44 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.018 km W of Doğanşar, TurkeyJanuary 24, 1916 · 206 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.626 km NE of Kaman, TurkeyApril 19, 1938 · 184 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.515 km ENE of İskilip, TurkeyJune 25, 1910 · 41 km W of this epicenter
- 6.326 km ENE of Koyulhisar, TurkeyFebruary 9, 1909 · 261 km E of this epicenter
- 6.3TurkeyMay 18, 1929 · 265 km E of this epicenter
- 6.215 km N of Saraykent, TurkeyJuly 30, 1940 · 128 km S of this epicenter
- 6.125 km ESE of Safranbolu, TurkeyJune 9, 1919 · 178 km W of this epicenter
- 6.015 km S of Kulu, TurkeySeptember 26, 1921 · 281 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 17 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 1,862 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1942M7.0
Niksar, Erbaa
20 Dec 1942 · 140 km away · intensity X
1,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1835
Turkey
23 Aug 1835 · 274 km away · intensity X
300 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1938M6.6
Kirsehir
19 Apr 1938 · 184 km away · intensity X
224 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1844
Osmancik, Ankara
12 May 1844 · 24 km away · intensity IX
200 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1929M6.5
Susehri
18 May 1929 · 252 km away · intensity VIII
64 deaths
- 1940
Kayseri,Develi
20 Feb 1940 · 285 km away · intensity IX
37 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.