Reviewed by USGS123y ago
M5.9 earthquake in Montenegro-Albania border region
Saturday, June 3, 1905, 05:10:40 UTC · 42.124°N, 19.411°E
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck in Montenegro-Albania border region on Saturday, June 3, 1905, 05:10:40 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.5 on June 1, 1905.
- 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
348 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Eurasian and African 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 6 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.59 km E of Stari Bar, MontenegroJune 1, 1905 · 14 km W of this epicenter
- 5.84 km NE of Makedonski Brod, North MacedoniaApril 30, 1905 · 166 km E of this epicenter
- 5.79 km E of Filiátes, GreeceApril 4, 1905 · 293 km S of this epicenter
- 5.67 km NE of Stari Bar, MontenegroJune 1, 1905 · 17 km W of this epicenter
- 5.415 km NW of Bogomila, North MacedoniaApril 3, 1905 · 169 km E of this epicenter
- 5.422 km WNW of Orikum, AlbaniaApril 4, 1905 · 196 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 37 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,775 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1851M6.6
Vlore (Valona),Berat; Turkey
12 Oct 1851 · 182 km away · intensity XI
2,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1851
Berat
17 Oct 1851 · 182 km away · intensity X
400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1905M6.6
Shkoder
1 Jun 1905 · 16 km away · intensity X
120 deaths$24 million damage
- 1786
Corfu (Kerkira)
5 Feb 1786 · 272 km away
120 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1866M6.6
Narta, Vlore, Kanina
2 Jan 1866 · 192 km away · intensity X
60 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1866
Smokthine, Velca, Vlore
2 Mar 1866 · 203 km away · intensity X
60 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.