Reviewed by USGSTurkey111y ago
M5.4 earthquake 138 km NW of Zonguldak, Turkey
Wednesday, April 4, 1917, 13:39:37 UTC · 42.479°N, 30.840°E
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck 138 km NW of Zonguldak, Turkey on Wednesday, April 4, 1917, 13:39:37 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.8 on October 22, 1905.
- 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 1/8 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 4 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
201 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Anatolian and Eurasian 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 1 M5.0+ earthquake within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 19 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 17,974 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1719
Turkey
25 May 1719 · 222 km away · intensity X
6,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1766M6.5
Turkey
22 May 1766 · 241 km away · intensity X
4,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1855M6.7
Tayabas, Bursa
28 Feb 1855 · 292 km away · intensity X
2,200 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1754M6.8
Izmit
2 Sep 1754 · 231 km away · intensity IX
2,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1894M6.7
Turkey
10 Jul 1894 · 275 km away · intensity X
1,349 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1855M6.7
Bursa
29 Apr 1855 · 292 km away
1,300 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.