Reviewed by USGSGreece105y ago
M6.7 earthquake 33 km SE of Karpathos, Greece
Sunday, August 13, 1922, 00:09:54 UTC · 35.331°N, 27.515°E
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck 33 km SE of Karpathos, Greece on Sunday, August 13, 1922, 00:09:54 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.
- Magnitude
- 6.7
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VI
- 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
181 kilotons of TNT
That is about 12 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 380 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
68 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Aegean Sea and African 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 100 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.9 on August 13, 1922. 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 22 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.452 km SSE of Fry, GreeceAugust 11, 1922 · 50 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.14 km SE of Megálo Chorió, GreeceAugust 11, 1904 · 237 km N of this epicenter
- 6.129 km ENE of Mesariá, GreeceApril 4, 1911 · 208 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.035 km S of Amorgós, GreeceOctober 25, 1919 · 198 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.98 km WSW of Mandráki, GreeceJuly 16, 1918 · 147 km N of this epicenter
- 5.8174 km SE of Karpathos, GreeceSeptember 30, 1918 · 141 km SE of this epicenter
- 5.729 km SSE of Karpathos, GreeceMarch 17, 1918 · 20 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.752 km SSW of Pýrgos, GreeceJune 24, 1915 · 243 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 18 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 3,907 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1810
Crete: Iraklion (Candia)
16 Feb 1810 · 229 km away · intensity X
3,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1856
Crete; Egypt
12 Oct 1856 · 139 km away · intensity XI
600 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1863M7.8
Rhodes, Kos
22 Apr 1863 · 137 km away · intensity XI
300 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1904M6.1
Samos, Patmos
11 Aug 1904 · 273 km away · intensity X
4 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1869M7.5
Gulf Of Keramos, Mentese
1 Dec 1869 · 191 km away · intensity X
3 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1741M7.3
Dodecanese; Crete; Cyprus; Egypt
31 Jan 1741 · 131 km away · intensity VIII
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.