Reviewed by USGSGreece110y ago
M5.7 earthquake 29 km SSE of Karpathos, Greece
Sunday, March 17, 1918, 13:45:10 UTC · 35.254°N, 27.318°E
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck 29 km SSE of Karpathos, Greece on Sunday, March 17, 1918, 13:45:10 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.8 on September 30, 1913.
- Magnitude
- 5.7
- 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
6 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/3 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 12 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
69 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 11 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.14 km SE of Megálo Chorió, GreeceAugust 11, 1904 · 243 km N of this epicenter
- 6.129 km ENE of Mesariá, GreeceApril 4, 1911 · 201 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.825 km SSE of Kastrí, GreeceSeptember 30, 1913 · 292 km W of this epicenter
- 5.752 km SSW of Pýrgos, GreeceJune 24, 1915 · 223 km W of this epicenter
- 5.67 km N of Datça, TurkeyApril 30, 1911 · 175 km N of this epicenter
- 5.612 km S of Ierápetra, GreeceAugust 21, 1910 · 151 km W of this epicenter
- 5.59 km NNW of Amorgós, GreeceJune 23, 1908 · 226 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.511 km ESE of Kímolos, GreeceJune 23, 1908 · 290 km NW 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 · 212 km away · intensity X
3,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1856
Crete; Egypt
12 Oct 1856 · 123 km away · intensity XI
600 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1863M7.8
Rhodes, Kos
22 Apr 1863 · 152 km away · intensity XI
300 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1904M6.1
Samos, Patmos
11 Aug 1904 · 279 km away · intensity X
4 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1869M7.5
Gulf Of Keramos, Mentese
1 Dec 1869 · 204 km away · intensity X
3 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1741M7.3
Dodecanese; Crete; Cyprus; Egypt
31 Jan 1741 · 150 km away · intensity VIII
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.