Reviewed by USGSGeorgia101y ago
M5.0 earthquake 23 km SSW of Ninotsminda, Georgia
Saturday, October 23, 1926, 10:31:21 UTC · 41.082°N, 43.462°E
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 23 km SSW of Ninotsminda, Georgia on Saturday, October 23, 1926, 10:31:21 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.9 on October 22, 1926.
- Magnitude
- 5.0
- 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
494 tons of TNT
That is about 1/31 of the Hiroshima bomb. Each whole step in magnitude is about 32 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
303 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Anatolian and Arabian 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 19 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.918 km ESE of Pasinler, TurkeySeptember 13, 1924 · 185 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.428 km N of Tqvarch'eli, GeorgiaOctober 21, 1905 · 269 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.3AzerbaijanFebruary 20, 1920 · 183 km E of this epicenter
- 6.05 km NE of Ts’inandali, GeorgiaFebruary 20, 1920 · 203 km NE of this epicenter
- 5.97 km NE of Alagir, RussiaJune 29, 1921 · 234 km N of this epicenter
- 5.91 km SW of Amasia, ArmeniaOctober 22, 1926 · 30 km SE of this epicenter
- 5.810 km SW of Asp’indza, GeorgiaJanuary 9, 1925 · 55 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.83 km W of Stepanavan, ArmeniaOctober 12, 1912 · 75 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 22 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 21,818 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1859M6.1
Erzurum
2 Jun 1859 · 225 km away
15,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1903M6.3
Malazgirt
28 Apr 1903 · 235 km away · intensity X
3,560 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1840M6.7
Mt Ararat, Aguri, Aralikh; Iran: Maku
2 Jul 1840 · 173 km away · intensity IX
1,049 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1903M5.8
Varginis,Cardahli,Mehkerek
28 May 1903 · 67 km away · intensity VIII
1,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1926M5.9
Turkey; Armenia
22 Oct 1926 · 30 km away · intensity IX
400 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1899M5.6
Turkey
31 Dec 1899 · 58 km away
247 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.