Reviewed by USGSTurkey99y ago
M5.3 earthquake 9 km NNW of Menemen, Turkey
Saturday, March 31, 1928, 05:12:33 UTC · 38.680°N, 27.009°E
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 9 km NNW of Menemen, Turkey on Saturday, March 31, 1928, 05:12:33 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.4 on March 31, 1928.
- Magnitude
- 5.3
- 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 1/9 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 3 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
24 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
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 42 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.2Aegean SeaNovember 8, 1905 · 258 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.225 km SE of Malkara, TurkeyAugust 9, 1912 · 228 km N of this epicenter
- 7.115 km WSW of Burdur, TurkeyOctober 3, 1914 · 295 km E of this epicenter
- 7.03 km ESE of Soma, TurkeyNovember 18, 1919 · 78 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.05 km NNW of Kéfalos, GreeceJune 26, 1926 · 210 km S of this epicenter
- 6.730 km SW of Kumbağ, TurkeySeptember 13, 1912 · 224 km N of this epicenter
- 6.4TurkeyMarch 31, 1928 · 63 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.21 km SW of Avlónas, GreeceOctober 17, 1914 · 293 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 54 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 42,449 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1883M7.3
Ayvalik, Izmir, Cesme
15 Oct 1883 · 82 km away · intensity X
15,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1881M7.3
Khios; Turkey: Cesme
3 Apr 1881 · 82 km away · intensity XI
7,866 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1914M7.0
Burdur, Kilinc, Keciborlu, Isparta
3 Oct 1914 · 300 km away · intensity IX
4,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1766M6.5
Turkey
22 May 1766 · 291 km away · intensity X
4,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1912M7.2
Marmara Sea
9 Aug 1912 · 228 km away
2,800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1855M6.7
Tayabas, Bursa
28 Feb 1855 · 247 km away · intensity X
2,200 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.