Reviewed by USGSGeorgia103y ago
M5.8 earthquake 10 km SW of Asp’indza, Georgia
Friday, January 9, 1925, 17:38:32 UTC · 41.518°N, 43.150°E
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck 10 km SW of Asp’indza, Georgia on Friday, January 9, 1925, 17:38:32 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
- 5.8
- 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
8 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/2 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 16 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
323 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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 14 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 · 206 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.428 km N of Tqvarch'eli, GeorgiaOctober 21, 1905 · 214 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.3AzerbaijanFebruary 20, 1920 · 209 km E of this epicenter
- 6.05 km NE of Ts’inandali, GeorgiaFebruary 20, 1920 · 210 km E of this epicenter
- 5.97 km NE of Alagir, RussiaJune 29, 1921 · 198 km NE of this epicenter
- 5.83 km W of Stepanavan, ArmeniaOctober 12, 1912 · 115 km SE of this epicenter
- 5.814 km SSW of Akhmet’a, GeorgiaApril 20, 1913 · 170 km E of this epicenter
- 5.74 km WSW of Urukh, RussiaMarch 2, 1922 · 208 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 19 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 21,323 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1859M6.1
Erzurum
2 Jun 1859 · 238 km away
15,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1903M6.3
Malazgirt
28 Apr 1903 · 274 km away · intensity X
3,560 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1840M6.7
Mt Ararat, Aguri, Aralikh; Iran: Maku
2 Jul 1840 · 228 km away · intensity IX
1,049 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1903M5.8
Varginis,Cardahli,Mehkerek
28 May 1903 · 78 km away · intensity VIII
1,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1899M5.6
Turkey
31 Dec 1899 · 31 km away
247 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1925M5.8
Ardahan
9 Jan 1925 · 46 km away · intensity VIII
200 deaths
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.