Reviewed by USGS107y ago
M5.8 earthquake in Turkey
Tuesday, September 28, 1920, 15:17:44 UTC · 38.122°N, 27.611°E
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck in Turkey on Tuesday, September 28, 1920, 15:17:44 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.0 on November 18, 1919.
- 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
9 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/2 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 18 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
31 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Aegean Sea and Anatolian 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 22 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.225 km SE of Malkara, TurkeyAugust 9, 1912 · 293 km N of this epicenter
- 7.115 km WSW of Burdur, TurkeyOctober 3, 1914 · 226 km E of this epicenter
- 7.03 km ESE of Soma, TurkeyNovember 18, 1919 · 117 km N of this epicenter
- 6.730 km SW of Kumbağ, TurkeySeptember 13, 1912 · 287 km N of this epicenter
- 6.223 km NE of Biga, TurkeyAugust 10, 1912 · 253 km N of this epicenter
- 6.14 km SE of Megálo Chorió, GreeceAugust 11, 1904 · 94 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.129 km ENE of Mesariá, GreeceApril 4, 1911 · 243 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.035 km S of Amorgós, GreeceOctober 25, 1919 · 236 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 53 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 39,867 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1883M7.3
Ayvalik, Izmir, Cesme
15 Oct 1883 · 125 km away · intensity X
15,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1881M7.3
Khios; Turkey: Cesme
3 Apr 1881 · 120 km away · intensity XI
7,866 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1914M7.0
Burdur, Kilinc, Keciborlu, Isparta
3 Oct 1914 · 235 km away · intensity IX
4,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1912M7.2
Marmara Sea
9 Aug 1912 · 293 km away
2,800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1855M6.7
Tayabas, Bursa
28 Feb 1855 · 264 km away · intensity X
2,200 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1894M6.7
Turkey
10 Jul 1894 · 291 km away · intensity X
1,349 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.