Reviewed by USGSTurkey84y ago
M7.0 earthquake 13 km SE of Ayvacık, Turkey
Sunday, December 20, 1942, 14:03:09 UTC · 40.907°N, 36.744°E
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck 13 km SE of Ayvacık, Turkey on Sunday, December 20, 1942, 14:03:09 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.8 on December 26, 1939.
- Magnitude
- 7.0
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 10 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VII
- Very strong (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
477 kilotons of TNT
That is about 32 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,000 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
23 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
10 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 200 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 45 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.820 km NNE of Erzincan, TurkeyDecember 26, 1939 · 265 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.018 km W of Doğanşar, TurkeyJanuary 24, 1916 · 92 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.626 km NE of Kaman, TurkeyApril 19, 1938 · 284 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.515 km ENE of İskilip, TurkeyJune 25, 1910 · 178 km W of this epicenter
- 6.326 km ENE of Koyulhisar, TurkeyFebruary 9, 1909 · 127 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.3TurkeyMay 18, 1929 · 135 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.215 km N of Saraykent, TurkeyJuly 30, 1940 · 161 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.04 km NNE of Erzincan, TurkeyNovember 12, 1941 · 265 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 21 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 39,577 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1939M7.8
Erzincan
26 Dec 1939 · 265 km away · intensity XII
32,700 deaths$20 million damagetsunami
- 1784
Erzurum,Erzincan
23 Jul 1784 · 269 km away
5,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1942M7.0
Niksar, Erbaa
20 Dec 1942 · 0 km away · intensity X
1,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1835
Turkey
23 Aug 1835 · 288 km away · intensity X
300 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1938M6.6
Kirsehir
19 Apr 1938 · 284 km away · intensity X
224 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1844
Osmancik, Ankara
12 May 1844 · 163 km away · intensity IX
200 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.