Reviewed by USGSGreece105y ago
M5.9 earthquake 24 km SE of Karpathos, Greece
Sunday, August 13, 1922, 12:46:07 UTC · 35.354°N, 27.415°E
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 24 km SE of Karpathos, Greece on Sunday, August 13, 1922, 12:46:07 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.7 on August 13, 1922.
- 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
12 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 25 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
74 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 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 23 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.733 km SE of Karpathos, GreeceAugust 13, 1922 · 9 km E of this epicenter
- 6.452 km SSE of Fry, GreeceAugust 11, 1922 · 47 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.14 km SE of Megálo Chorió, GreeceAugust 11, 1904 · 233 km N of this epicenter
- 6.129 km ENE of Mesariá, GreeceApril 4, 1911 · 199 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.035 km S of Amorgós, GreeceOctober 25, 1919 · 189 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.98 km WSW of Mandráki, GreeceJuly 16, 1918 · 142 km N of this epicenter
- 5.8174 km SE of Karpathos, GreeceSeptember 30, 1918 · 149 km SE of this epicenter
- 5.729 km SSE of Karpathos, GreeceMarch 17, 1918 · 14 km SW 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 · 219 km away · intensity X
3,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1856
Crete; Egypt
12 Oct 1856 · 129 km away · intensity XI
600 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1863M7.8
Rhodes, Kos
22 Apr 1863 · 138 km away · intensity XI
300 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1904M6.1
Samos, Patmos
11 Aug 1904 · 269 km away · intensity X
4 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1869M7.5
Gulf Of Keramos, Mentese
1 Dec 1869 · 190 km away · intensity X
3 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1741M7.3
Dodecanese; Crete; Cyprus; Egypt
31 Jan 1741 · 136 km away · intensity VIII
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.