Reviewed by USGSArmenia101y ago
M5.9 earthquake 1 km SW of Amasia, Armenia
Friday, October 22, 1926, 19:59:38 UTC · 40.942°N, 43.771°E
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 1 km SW of Amasia, Armenia on Friday, October 22, 1926, 19:59:38 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.9 on September 13, 1924.
- Magnitude
- 5.9
- 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
10 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/2 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 20 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
311 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Anatolian and Arabian 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 M5.0 on October 23, 1926. 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 17 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.918 km ESE of Pasinler, TurkeySeptember 13, 1924 · 195 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.428 km N of Tqvarch'eli, GeorgiaOctober 21, 1905 · 296 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.3AzerbaijanFebruary 20, 1920 · 161 km E of this epicenter
- 6.05 km NE of Ts’inandali, GeorgiaFebruary 20, 1920 · 189 km NE of this epicenter
- 5.97 km NE of Alagir, RussiaJune 29, 1921 · 243 km N of this epicenter
- 5.810 km SW of Asp’indza, GeorgiaJanuary 9, 1925 · 82 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.83 km W of Stepanavan, ArmeniaOctober 12, 1912 · 49 km E of this epicenter
- 5.814 km SSW of Akhmet’a, GeorgiaApril 20, 1913 · 156 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 25 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 23,618 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1859M6.1
Erzurum
2 Jun 1859 · 239 km away
15,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1903M6.3
Malazgirt
28 Apr 1903 · 232 km away · intensity X
3,560 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1840M6.7
Mt Ararat, Aguri, Aralikh; Iran: Maku
2 Jul 1840 · 148 km away · intensity IX
1,049 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1903M5.8
Varginis,Cardahli,Mehkerek
28 May 1903 · 90 km away · intensity VIII
1,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1843
Khvoy (Khoy)
18 Apr 1843 · 278 km away · intensity VII
1,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1896
Khvoy (Khoy)
5 Jan 1896 · 291 km away
800 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.