Reviewed by USGSTurkey88y ago
M5.9 earthquake 12 km NE of Otlukbeli, Turkey
Tuesday, November 21, 1939, 08:48:56 UTC · 40.052°N, 40.117°E
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 12 km NE of Otlukbeli, Turkey on Tuesday, November 21, 1939, 08:48:56 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.0 on May 1, 1935.
- Magnitude
- 5.9
- 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
12 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 25 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
43 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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 27 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 · 239 km W of this epicenter
- 6.918 km ESE of Pasinler, TurkeySeptember 13, 1924 · 150 km E of this epicenter
- 6.813 km NNE of Sincik, TurkeyDecember 4, 1905 · 246 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.326 km ENE of Koyulhisar, TurkeyFebruary 9, 1909 · 176 km W of this epicenter
- 6.3TurkeyMay 18, 1929 · 173 km W of this epicenter
- 6.028 km E of Kars, TurkeyMay 1, 1935 · 285 km E of this epicenter
- 6.0TurkeyNovember 12, 1934 · 207 km S of this epicenter
- 5.8TurkeyDecember 10, 1930 · 83 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 26 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 58,864 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1939M7.8
Erzincan
26 Dec 1939 · 48 km away · intensity XII
32,700 deaths$20 million damagetsunami
- 1859M6.1
Erzurum
2 Jun 1859 · 102 km away
15,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1784
Erzurum,Erzincan
23 Jul 1784 · 66 km away
5,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1903M6.3
Malazgirt
28 Apr 1903 · 230 km away · intensity X
3,560 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1903M5.8
Varginis,Cardahli,Mehkerek
28 May 1903 · 238 km away · intensity VIII
1,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1935M6.1
Kigi
1 May 1935 · 285 km away
540 deaths
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.