Reviewed by USGSTurkey112y ago
M5.7 earthquake 16 km NNW of Ergani, Turkey
Wednesday, May 19, 1915, 04:48:30 UTC · 38.400°N, 39.674°E
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck 16 km NNW of Ergani, Turkey on Wednesday, May 19, 1915, 04:48:30 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.7 on January 27, 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
20 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Anatolian and Arabian 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 6 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.813 km NNE of Sincik, TurkeyDecember 4, 1905 · 94 km W of this epicenter
- 6.326 km ENE of Koyulhisar, TurkeyFebruary 9, 1909 · 261 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.711 km NW of Ahlat, TurkeyJanuary 27, 1913 · 240 km E of this epicenter
- 5.65 km NW of Kelkit, TurkeyMay 20, 1905 · 197 km N of this epicenter
- 5.66 km NNE of Şanlıurfa, TurkeyDecember 4, 1905 · 151 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.311 km SE of Baykan, TurkeyJune 3, 1907 · 195 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 12 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 23,977 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1859M6.1
Erzurum
2 Jun 1859 · 218 km away
15,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1784
Erzurum,Erzincan
23 Jul 1784 · 145 km away
5,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1903M6.3
Malazgirt
28 Apr 1903 · 257 km away · intensity X
3,560 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1893M6.7
Malatya
31 Mar 1893 · 120 km away · intensity IX
400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1852M7.3
Turkey
24 Jul 1852 · 218 km away
17 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1905M6.8
Puturge,Celikhan,Rumkale
4 Dec 1905 · 100 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.