Reviewed by USGSTurkey89y ago
M5.5 earthquake 18 km ENE of Kaman, Turkey
Tuesday, April 19, 1938, 23:11:14 UTC · 39.440°N, 33.907°E
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 18 km ENE of Kaman, Turkey on Tuesday, April 19, 1938, 23:11:14 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
- 5.5
- 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
3 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/5 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 6 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
180 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 75 km
USGS lists 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.4 on May 14, 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 30 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.626 km NE of Kaman, TurkeyApril 19, 1938 · 12 km N of this epicenter
- 6.515 km ENE of İskilip, TurkeyJune 25, 1910 · 164 km N of this epicenter
- 6.125 km ESE of Safranbolu, TurkeyJune 9, 1919 · 208 km N of this epicenter
- 6.126 km WNW of Yalvaç, TurkeyNovember 20, 1924 · 287 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.015 km S of Kulu, TurkeySeptember 26, 1921 · 92 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.917 km NNE of Tosya, TurkeyJune 9, 1919 · 192 km N of this epicenter
- 5.922 km NNE of Yunak, TurkeyOctober 29, 1909 · 188 km W of this epicenter
- 5.920 km SSE of Artova, TurkeyApril 29, 1923 · 218 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 9 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 · 285 km away · intensity IX
675 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1835
Turkey
23 Aug 1835 · 173 km away · intensity X
300 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1938M6.6
Kirsehir
19 Apr 1938 · 12 km away · intensity X
224 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1844
Osmancik, Ankara
12 May 1844 · 187 km away · intensity IX
200 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1881M6.1
Turkey
28 Sep 1881 · 132 km away
12 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1902M5.5
Cankiri
9 Mar 1902 · 143 km away · intensity IX
4 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.