Reviewed by USGSCroatia84y ago
M5.4 earthquake 2 km W of Cista Provo, Croatia
Wednesday, January 20, 1943, 12:38:22 UTC · 43.506°N, 16.923°E
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck 2 km W of Cista Provo, Croatia on Wednesday, January 20, 1943, 12:38:22 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.2 on December 29, 1942.
- 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 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
487 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 36 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 · 246 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.22 km SE of Grabovci, CroatiaDecember 29, 1942 · 25 km E of this epicenter
- 6.1Bosnia and HerzegovinaMarch 15, 1923 · 60 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.011 km NW of Bileća, Bosnia and HerzegovinaFebruary 14, 1927 · 129 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.028 km NNE of Montignano-Marzocca, ItalyOctober 30, 1930 · 280 km W of this epicenter
- 6.011 km S of Čačak, SerbiaMarch 24, 1922 · 278 km E of this epicenter
- 6.07 km ESE of Pokupsko, CroatiaOctober 8, 1909 · 228 km N of this epicenter
- 5.9Montenegro-Albania border regionJune 3, 1905 · 255 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 38 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 6,868 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1731M6.3
Foggia
20 Mar 1731 · 252 km away · intensity X
3,600 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1930M6.5
Irpinia
23 Jul 1930 · 295 km away · intensity X
1,430 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1706
Sulmona To Campobasso, Abruzzi
3 Nov 1706 · 285 km away · intensity X
1,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1851
Melfi, Rapolla, Barile, Rionero, Mt Vulture
14 Aug 1851 · 296 km away · intensity XI
671 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1905M6.6
Shkoder
1 Jun 1905 · 269 km away · intensity X
120 deaths$24 million damage
- 1943
Bosnia-Herzegovina
29 Jan 1943 · 89 km away
19 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.