Reviewed by USGSTurkey110y ago
M5.5 earthquake 11 km ESE of Işıklar, Turkey
Wednesday, January 16, 1918, 16:32:34 UTC · 38.614°N, 30.855°E
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 11 km ESE of Işıklar, Turkey on Wednesday, January 16, 1918, 16:32:34 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.0 on January 16, 1918.
- Magnitude
- 5.5
- 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
3 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/5 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 7 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
220 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 5 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.115 km WSW of Burdur, TurkeyOctober 3, 1914 · 123 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.016 km NNW of Senirkent, TurkeyJanuary 16, 1918 · 52 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.922 km NNE of Yunak, TurkeyOctober 29, 1909 · 93 km NE of this epicenter
- 5.510 km SE of İscehisar, TurkeyOctober 11, 1914 · 20 km N of this epicenter
- 5.45 km ESE of Yeşilova, TurkeyOctober 4, 1914 · 155 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 24 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 25,983 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1719
Turkey
25 May 1719 · 273 km away · intensity X
6,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1914M7.0
Burdur, Kilinc, Keciborlu, Isparta
3 Oct 1914 · 102 km away · intensity IX
4,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1766M6.5
Turkey
22 May 1766 · 290 km away · intensity X
4,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1855M6.7
Tayabas, Bursa
28 Feb 1855 · 232 km away · intensity X
2,200 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1754M6.8
Izmit
2 Sep 1754 · 281 km away · intensity IX
2,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1894M6.7
Turkey
10 Jul 1894 · 288 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.