Reviewed by USGSTurkey103y ago
M5.6 earthquake 16 km E of Erzurum, Turkey
Saturday, September 27, 1924, 04:27:46 UTC · 39.880°N, 41.472°E
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 16 km E of Erzurum, Turkey on Saturday, September 27, 1924, 04:27:46 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
- 5.6
- 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
4 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/4 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 9 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
95 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Anatolian and Eurasian plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
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 10 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 · 35 km E of this epicenter
- 6.326 km ENE of Koyulhisar, TurkeyFebruary 9, 1909 · 293 km W of this epicenter
- 5.83 km W of Stepanavan, ArmeniaOctober 12, 1912 · 274 km NE of this epicenter
- 5.78 km N of Başkale, TurkeyApril 25, 1918 · 293 km SE of this epicenter
- 5.711 km NW of Ahlat, TurkeyJanuary 27, 1913 · 142 km SE of this epicenter
- 5.716 km NNW of Ergani, TurkeyMay 19, 1915 · 226 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.65 km NW of Kelkit, TurkeyMay 20, 1905 · 179 km W of this epicenter
- 5.625 km NNE of Eleşkirt, TurkeyMay 13, 1924 · 113 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 23 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 26,218 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1859M6.1
Erzurum
2 Jun 1859 · 15 km away
15,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1784
Erzurum,Erzincan
23 Jul 1784 · 170 km away
5,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1903M6.3
Malazgirt
28 Apr 1903 · 124 km away · intensity X
3,560 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1840M6.7
Mt Ararat, Aguri, Aralikh; Iran: Maku
2 Jul 1840 · 251 km away · intensity IX
1,049 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1903M5.8
Varginis,Cardahli,Mehkerek
28 May 1903 · 154 km away · intensity VIII
1,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1899M5.6
Turkey
31 Dec 1899 · 256 km away
247 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.