Reviewed by USGSSerbia100y ago
M6.0 earthquake 8 km WNW of Kragujevac, Serbia
Sunday, May 15, 1927, 02:47:16 UTC · 44.051°N, 20.817°E
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck 8 km WNW of Kragujevac, Serbia on Sunday, May 15, 1927, 02:47:16 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.0 on February 14, 1927.
- Magnitude
- 6.0
- 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
14 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 29 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
523 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Aegean Sea 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 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.6 on May 15, 1927. 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 18 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.59 km E of Stari Bar, MontenegroJune 1, 1905 · 252 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.24 km ESE of Rrëshen, AlbaniaAugust 4, 1905 · 267 km S of this epicenter
- 6.115 km NE of Bobov Dol, BulgariaOctober 8, 1905 · 258 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.1Bosnia and HerzegovinaMarch 15, 1923 · 277 km W of this epicenter
- 6.011 km NW of Bileća, Bosnia and HerzegovinaFebruary 14, 1927 · 236 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.06 km SSE of Gurgurnica, North MacedoniaMarch 30, 1921 · 252 km S of this epicenter
- 6.011 km S of Čačak, SerbiaMarch 24, 1922 · 47 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.9Montenegro-Albania border regionJune 3, 1905 · 243 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 17 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 123 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1905M6.6
Shkoder
1 Jun 1905 · 238 km away · intensity X
120 deaths$24 million damage
- 1893
Nw: Popovic
8 Apr 1893 · 35 km away · intensity X
3 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1922M6.0
Serbia
24 Mar 1922 · 51 km away · intensity X
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1780
Montenegro
21 Sep 1780 · 246 km away · intensity X
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1843M6.5
Croatia: Dubrovnik
14 Sep 1843 · 273 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1853M5.3
Montenegro
11 Dec 1853 · 257 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.