Reviewed by USGS99y ago
M6.4 earthquake in Turkey
Saturday, March 31, 1928, 00:29:50 UTC · 38.274°N, 27.511°E
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck in Turkey on Saturday, March 31, 1928, 00:29:50 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.0 on June 26, 1926.
- Magnitude
- 6.4
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 10 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VII
- Very strong (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
58 kilotons of TNT
That is about 4 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 122 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
27 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Aegean Sea and Anatolian plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
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 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.3 on March 31, 1928. 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 40 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.225 km SE of Malkara, TurkeyAugust 9, 1912 · 275 km N of this epicenter
- 7.115 km WSW of Burdur, TurkeyOctober 3, 1914 · 239 km E of this epicenter
- 7.03 km ESE of Soma, TurkeyNovember 18, 1919 · 101 km N of this epicenter
- 7.05 km NNW of Kéfalos, GreeceJune 26, 1926 · 172 km S of this epicenter
- 6.730 km SW of Kumbağ, TurkeySeptember 13, 1912 · 269 km N of this epicenter
- 6.223 km NE of Biga, TurkeyAugust 10, 1912 · 236 km N of this epicenter
- 6.14 km SE of Megálo Chorió, GreeceAugust 11, 1904 · 104 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.126 km WNW of Yalvaç, TurkeyNovember 20, 1924 · 295 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 57 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 40,040 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1883M7.3
Ayvalik, Izmir, Cesme
15 Oct 1883 · 114 km away · intensity X
15,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1881M7.3
Khios; Turkey: Cesme
3 Apr 1881 · 110 km away · intensity XI
7,866 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1914M7.0
Burdur, Kilinc, Keciborlu, Isparta
3 Oct 1914 · 247 km away · intensity IX
4,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1912M7.2
Marmara Sea
9 Aug 1912 · 275 km away
2,800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1855M6.7
Tayabas, Bursa
28 Feb 1855 · 254 km away · intensity X
2,200 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1894M6.7
Turkey
10 Jul 1894 · 278 km away · intensity X
1,349 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.