Reviewed by USGSGreece109y ago
M5.9 earthquake 8 km WSW of Mandráki, Greece
Tuesday, July 16, 1918, 20:03:39 UTC · 36.594°N, 27.036°E
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 8 km WSW of Mandráki, Greece on Tuesday, July 16, 1918, 20:03:39 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.1 on October 3, 1914.
- 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
130 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Aegean Sea and Anatolian 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 16 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 · 299 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.14 km SE of Megálo Chorió, GreeceAugust 11, 1904 · 93 km N of this epicenter
- 6.129 km ENE of Mesariá, GreeceApril 4, 1911 · 116 km W of this epicenter
- 6.021 km NNE of Karaburun, TurkeyJanuary 19, 1909 · 251 km N of this epicenter
- 5.832 km N of Agía Marína, GreeceFebruary 18, 1910 · 287 km W of this epicenter
- 5.729 km SSE of Karpathos, GreeceMarch 17, 1918 · 151 km S of this epicenter
- 5.752 km SSW of Pýrgos, GreeceJune 24, 1915 · 292 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.67 km W of Serinhisar, TurkeyJuly 4, 1918 · 220 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 36 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 28,491 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1883M7.3
Ayvalik, Izmir, Cesme
15 Oct 1883 · 204 km away · intensity X
15,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1881M7.3
Khios; Turkey: Cesme
3 Apr 1881 · 197 km away · intensity XI
7,866 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1810
Crete: Iraklion (Candia)
16 Feb 1810 · 220 km away · intensity X
3,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1899M6.7
Sultanhisar,Atca,Nazilli,Kuyucak,Denizli
20 Sep 1899 · 218 km away · intensity IX
1,117 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1856
Crete; Egypt
12 Oct 1856 · 153 km away · intensity XI
600 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1867M7.0
Mitilini; Turkey: Izmir
7 Mar 1867 · 295 km away
563 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.