Reviewed by USGS88y ago
M5.6 earthquake in Turkey
Friday, December 29, 1939, 11:33:39 UTC · 40.028°N, 39.194°E
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck in Turkey on Friday, December 29, 1939, 11:33:39 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.9 on December 28, 1939.
- Magnitude
- 5.6
- 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
4 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/4 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 7 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
11 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 25 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 · 36 km E of this epicenter
- 7.018 km W of Doğanşar, TurkeyJanuary 24, 1916 · 161 km W of this epicenter
- 6.918 km ESE of Pasinler, TurkeySeptember 13, 1924 · 229 km E of this epicenter
- 6.813 km NNE of Sincik, TurkeyDecember 4, 1905 · 214 km S of this epicenter
- 6.326 km ENE of Koyulhisar, TurkeyFebruary 9, 1909 · 102 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.3TurkeyMay 18, 1929 · 97 km W of this epicenter
- 6.0TurkeyNovember 12, 1934 · 244 km SE of this epicenter
- 5.912 km NE of Otlukbeli, TurkeyNovember 21, 1939 · 79 km E 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 53,374 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1939M7.8
Erzincan
26 Dec 1939 · 36 km away · intensity XII
32,700 deaths$20 million damagetsunami
- 1859M6.1
Erzurum
2 Jun 1859 · 180 km away
15,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1784
Erzurum,Erzincan
23 Jul 1784 · 45 km away
5,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1893M6.7
Malatya
31 Mar 1893 · 207 km away · intensity IX
400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1934
Kurdistan: Diyarbakir (Mouche Diarbekir)
27 Nov 1934 · 250 km away
100 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1929M6.5
Susehri
18 May 1929 · 112 km away · intensity VIII
64 deaths
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.