Reviewed by USGSCroatia89y ago
M5.9 earthquake 7 km ESE of Legrad, Croatia
Sunday, March 27, 1938, 11:16:26 UTC · 46.277°N, 16.951°E
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 7 km ESE of Legrad, Croatia on Sunday, March 27, 1938, 11:16:26 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.0 on March 27, 1928.
- Magnitude
- 5.9
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 10 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
11 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 22 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
774 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North American and Pacific plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
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 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 23 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.04 km SE of Zuglio, ItalyMarch 27, 1928 · 299 km W of this epicenter
- 6.07 km ESE of Pokupsko, CroatiaOctober 8, 1909 · 112 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.97 km NE of Novi Vinodolski, CroatiaMarch 12, 1916 · 203 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.84 km WNW of Sunja, CroatiaJanuary 2, 1906 · 105 km S of this epicenter
- 5.815 km WNW of Perušić, CroatiaJuly 14, 1916 · 222 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.83 km N of Rude, CroatiaJanuary 29, 1917 · 112 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.86 km NW of Fábiánsebestyén, HungaryJuly 8, 1911 · 269 km E of this epicenter
- 5.65 km SW of Brezová pod Bradlom, SlovakiaJanuary 9, 1906 · 264 km N 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 90 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1763M6.2
Gyor; Czechoslovakia: Komarom
28 Jun 1763 · 184 km away · intensity IX
83 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1895M6.1
Slovenia: Ljubljana
14 Apr 1895 · 190 km away · intensity IX
7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1917M5.6
Slovenia: Brezice
29 Jan 1917 · 112 km away · intensity VIII
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1775
Croatia: Bedekovcina
13 Oct 1775 · 87 km away · intensity X
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1738M5.1
Croatia: Medimurje
30 Mar 1738 · 47 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1840M4.9
Slovenia: Ljubljana
27 Aug 1840 · 173 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.