Reviewed by USGSTurkey74y ago
M5.4 earthquake 6 km SSW of Balya, Turkey
Wednesday, April 1, 1953, 01:47:36 UTC · 39.700°N, 27.545°E
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck 6 km SSW of Balya, Turkey on Wednesday, April 1, 1953, 01:47:36 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.4 on March 19, 1953.
- Magnitude
- 5.4
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 10 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
2 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/7 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 4 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
88 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Aegean Sea and Anatolian plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
10 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 82 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.37 km N of Gönen, TurkeyMarch 18, 1953 · 54 km N of this epicenter
- 7.2Aegean SeaNovember 8, 1905 · 253 km W of this epicenter
- 7.225 km SE of Malkara, TurkeyAugust 9, 1912 · 120 km N of this epicenter
- 7.29 km NNW of Karaburun, TurkeyJuly 23, 1949 · 143 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.03 km ESE of Soma, TurkeyNovember 18, 1919 · 59 km S of this epicenter
- 6.7TurkeyOctober 6, 1944 · 85 km W of this epicenter
- 6.730 km SW of Kumbağ, TurkeySeptember 13, 1912 · 113 km N of this epicenter
- 6.59 km NNW of Bergama, TurkeySeptember 22, 1939 · 65 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 65 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 49,980 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1883M7.3
Ayvalik, Izmir, Cesme
15 Oct 1883 · 194 km away · intensity X
15,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1881M7.3
Khios; Turkey: Cesme
3 Apr 1881 · 196 km away · intensity XI
7,866 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1719
Turkey
25 May 1719 · 199 km away · intensity X
6,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1766M6.5
Turkey
22 May 1766 · 174 km away · intensity X
4,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1912M7.2
Marmara Sea
9 Aug 1912 · 120 km away
2,800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1855M6.7
Tayabas, Bursa
28 Feb 1855 · 144 km away · intensity X
2,200 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.