Reviewed by USGSTurkey87y ago
M6.2 earthquake 15 km N of Saraykent, Turkey
Tuesday, July 30, 1940, 00:12:11 UTC · 39.833°N, 35.476°E
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck 15 km N of Saraykent, Turkey on Tuesday, July 30, 1940, 00:12:11 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.6 on April 19, 1938.
- 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
31 kilotons of TNT
That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 65 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
125 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Anatolian and Eurasian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.4 on July 31, 1940. 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 41 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 · 162 km E of this epicenter
- 6.626 km NE of Kaman, TurkeyApril 19, 1938 · 138 km W of this epicenter
- 6.515 km ENE of İskilip, TurkeyJune 25, 1910 · 130 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.326 km ENE of Koyulhisar, TurkeyFebruary 9, 1909 · 232 km E of this epicenter
- 6.3TurkeyMay 18, 1929 · 228 km E of this epicenter
- 6.125 km ESE of Safranbolu, TurkeyJune 9, 1919 · 258 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.015 km S of Kulu, TurkeySeptember 26, 1921 · 230 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.917 km NNE of Tosya, TurkeyJune 9, 1919 · 188 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 14 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 1,241 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1893M6.7
Malatya
31 Mar 1893 · 297 km away · intensity IX
400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1835
Turkey
23 Aug 1835 · 148 km away · intensity X
300 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1938M6.6
Kirsehir
19 Apr 1938 · 138 km away · intensity X
224 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1844
Osmancik, Ankara
12 May 1844 · 140 km away · intensity IX
200 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1929M6.5
Susehri
18 May 1929 · 210 km away · intensity VIII
64 deaths
- 1940
Kayseri,Develi
20 Feb 1940 · 159 km away · intensity IX
37 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.