Reviewed by USGSGreece109y ago
M5.8 earthquake 174 km SE of Karpathos, Greece
Monday, September 30, 1918, 07:27:27 UTC · 34.433°N, 28.609°E
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck 174 km SE of Karpathos, Greece on Monday, September 30, 1918, 07:27:27 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.9 on July 16, 1918.
- Magnitude
- 5.8
- 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
6 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/2 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 13 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
69 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Aegean Sea 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 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 6 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 5.98 km WSW of Mandráki, GreeceJuly 16, 1918 · 279 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.729 km SSE of Karpathos, GreeceMarch 17, 1918 · 149 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.67 km N of Datça, TurkeyApril 30, 1911 · 277 km N of this epicenter
- 5.69 km E of Palekastro, GreeceJuly 1, 1918 · 222 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.612 km S of Ierápetra, GreeceAugust 21, 1910 · 270 km W of this epicenter
- 5.337 km NNE of Palekastro, GreeceJune 13, 1917 · 232 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 10 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 903 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1856
Crete; Egypt
12 Oct 1856 · 266 km away · intensity XI
600 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1863M7.8
Rhodes, Kos
22 Apr 1863 · 236 km away · intensity XI
300 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1869M7.5
Gulf Of Keramos, Mentese
1 Dec 1869 · 291 km away · intensity X
3 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1741M7.3
Dodecanese; Crete; Cyprus; Egypt
31 Jan 1741 · 197 km away · intensity VIII
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1815
Crete
Dec 1815 · 269 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1851M7.1
Fethiye; Greece: Rhodes
28 Feb 1851 · 233 km away · intensity X
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.