Reviewed by USGSTurkey89y ago
M6.6 earthquake 26 km NE of Kaman, Turkey
Tuesday, April 19, 1938, 10:59:21 UTC · 39.544°N, 33.911°E
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck 26 km NE of Kaman, Turkey on Tuesday, April 19, 1938, 10:59:21 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.0 on January 24, 1916.
- Magnitude
- 6.6
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 10 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VIII
- Severe (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
128 kilotons of TNT
That is about 9 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 269 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
169 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
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 100 km
USGS lists 4 M2.5+ earthquakes within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.5 on April 19, 1938. 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 31 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 · 299 km E of this epicenter
- 6.515 km ENE of İskilip, TurkeyJune 25, 1910 · 153 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.125 km ESE of Safranbolu, TurkeyJune 9, 1919 · 197 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.126 km WNW of Yalvaç, TurkeyNovember 20, 1924 · 292 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.015 km S of Kulu, TurkeySeptember 26, 1921 · 99 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.917 km NNE of Tosya, TurkeyJune 9, 1919 · 181 km N of this epicenter
- 5.922 km NNE of Yunak, TurkeyOctober 29, 1909 · 192 km W of this epicenter
- 5.920 km SSE of Artova, TurkeyApril 29, 1923 · 214 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 11 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 1,415 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1866M7.2
Goynuk
12 May 1866 · 281 km away · intensity IX
675 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1835
Turkey
23 Aug 1835 · 180 km away · intensity X
300 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1938M6.6
Kirsehir
19 Apr 1938 · 0 km away · intensity X
224 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1844
Osmancik, Ankara
12 May 1844 · 177 km away · intensity IX
200 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1881M6.1
Turkey
28 Sep 1881 · 120 km away
12 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1902M5.5
Cankiri
9 Mar 1902 · 131 km away · intensity IX
4 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.