Reviewed by USGSGreece67y ago
M5.4 earthquake 40 km SW of Lixoúri, Greece
Friday, November 27, 1959, 00:26:14 UTC · 37.901°N, 20.168°E
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck 40 km SW of Lixoúri, Greece on Friday, November 27, 1959, 00:26:14 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.4 on November 27, 1959.
- Magnitude
- 5.4
- 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
2 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/8 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 4 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
5 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Eurasian 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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.6 on December 1, 1959. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 230 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.34 km WNW of Koróni, GreeceOctober 6, 1947 · 197 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.815 km ENE of Póros, GreeceAugust 12, 1953 · 75 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.7Ionian SeaNovember 15, 1959 · 36 km E of this epicenter
- 6.77 km NE of Anávra, GreeceApril 30, 1954 · 228 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.635 km NW of Itháki, GreeceApril 22, 1948 · 79 km N of this epicenter
- 6.513 km ESE of Itháki, GreeceAugust 11, 1953 · 74 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.56 km N of Tríkeri, GreeceJanuary 20, 1905 · 290 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.532 km NNW of Lixoúri, GreeceAugust 7, 1915 · 67 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 112 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 5,966 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1851M6.6
Vlore (Valona),Berat; Turkey
12 Oct 1851 · 292 km away · intensity XI
2,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1953M7.2
Lixouri-Argostoli (Kephallenia)
12 Aug 1953 · 71 km away · intensity X
476 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1851
Berat
17 Oct 1851 · 292 km away · intensity X
400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1820M6.9
Zakinthos (Zante)
29 Dec 1820 · 97 km away · intensity X
388 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1886M6.8
Triphylie (Peleponese), Philiatra
27 Aug 1886 · 162 km away · intensity X
326 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1767M6.7
Kefalonia
11 Jul 1767 · 48 km away · intensity X
303 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.