Reviewed by USGSGreece87y ago
M6.2 earthquake 16 km S of Néa Anatolí, Greece
Thursday, February 29, 1940, 16:07:42 UTC · 34.860°N, 25.632°E
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck 16 km S of Néa Anatolí, Greece on Thursday, February 29, 1940, 16:07:42 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.2 on February 25, 1935.
- Magnitude
- 6.2
- 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
28 kilotons of TNT
That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 59 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
68 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 77 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.9Southern GreeceAugust 11, 1903 · 270 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.05 km NNW of Kéfalos, GreeceJune 26, 1926 · 245 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.733 km SE of Karpathos, GreeceAugust 13, 1922 · 179 km E of this epicenter
- 6.414 km E of Kardámaina, GreeceApril 23, 1933 · 259 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.452 km SSE of Fry, GreeceAugust 11, 1922 · 140 km E of this epicenter
- 6.266 km SSW of Folégandros, GreeceFebruary 25, 1935 · 154 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.129 km ENE of Mesariá, GreeceApril 4, 1911 · 185 km N of this epicenter
- 6.153 km S of Folégandros, GreeceFebruary 14, 1930 · 162 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 19 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 6,083 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1810
Crete: Iraklion (Candia)
16 Feb 1810 · 91 km away · intensity X
3,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1750
Morea,Cerigo
7 Jun 1750 · 281 km away · intensity X
2,000 deaths
- 1856
Crete; Egypt
12 Oct 1856 · 79 km away · intensity XI
600 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1863M7.8
Rhodes, Kos
22 Apr 1863 · 281 km away · intensity XI
300 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1933M6.4
Dodecanese Islands
23 Apr 1933 · 259 km away · intensity X
181 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1903M7.8
Mitata (Kythera)
11 Aug 1903 · 270 km away · intensity XI
2 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.