Reviewed by USGSGeorgia115y ago
M5.8 earthquake 14 km SSW of Akhmet’a, Georgia
Sunday, April 20, 1913, 03:13:41 UTC · 41.915°N, 45.123°E
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck 14 km SSW of Akhmet’a, Georgia on Sunday, April 20, 1913, 03:13:41 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.8 on October 12, 1912.
- 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
6 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/2 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 13 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
464 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Anatolian and Arabian 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 4 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 5.83 km W of Stepanavan, ArmeniaOctober 12, 1912 · 120 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.57 km ENE of Vurğun, AzerbaijanOctober 20, 1906 · 94 km S of this epicenter
- 5.56 km NW of Kveda Chkhorots’q’u, GeorgiaAugust 29, 1907 · 262 km W of this epicenter
- 5.324 km S of Terekli-Mekteb, RussiaAugust 10, 1912 · 233 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 13 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,886 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1840M6.7
Mt Ararat, Aguri, Aralikh; Iran: Maku
2 Jul 1840 · 254 km away · intensity IX
1,049 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1903M5.8
Varginis,Cardahli,Mehkerek
28 May 1903 · 231 km away · intensity VIII
1,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1830
Russia
9 Mar 1830 · 262 km away · intensity IX
410 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1899M5.6
Turkey
31 Dec 1899 · 139 km away
247 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1900M5.9
Kars,Karakurt,Kagizman,Digor
12 Jul 1900 · 247 km away · intensity VIII
140 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1830M6.3
Dagestan
9 Mar 1830 · 196 km away · intensity IX
40 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.