Reviewed by USGSGreece110y ago
M5.3 earthquake 37 km NNE of Palekastro, Greece
Wednesday, June 13, 1917, 12:15:56 UTC · 35.508°N, 26.428°E
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 37 km NNE of Palekastro, Greece on Wednesday, June 13, 1917, 12:15:56 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.4 on June 24, 1915.
- 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
1 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/12 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 3 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
142 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Aegean Sea 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 13 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.14 km SE of Megálo Chorió, GreeceAugust 11, 1904 · 220 km N of this epicenter
- 6.129 km ENE of Mesariá, GreeceApril 4, 1911 · 129 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.125 km NW of Kastrí, GreeceMay 17, 1908 · 238 km W of this epicenter
- 5.832 km N of Agía Marína, GreeceFebruary 18, 1910 · 223 km W of this epicenter
- 5.825 km SSE of Kastrí, GreeceSeptember 30, 1913 · 225 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.752 km SSW of Pýrgos, GreeceJune 24, 1915 · 167 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.67 km N of Datça, TurkeyApril 30, 1911 · 183 km NE of this epicenter
- 5.612 km S of Ierápetra, GreeceAugust 21, 1910 · 93 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 20 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 3,907 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1810
Crete: Iraklion (Candia)
16 Feb 1810 · 129 km away · intensity X
3,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1856
Crete; Egypt
12 Oct 1856 · 39 km away · intensity XI
600 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1863M7.8
Rhodes, Kos
22 Apr 1863 · 179 km away · intensity XI
300 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1904M6.1
Samos, Patmos
11 Aug 1904 · 254 km away · intensity X
4 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1869M7.5
Gulf Of Keramos, Mentese
1 Dec 1869 · 218 km away · intensity X
3 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1741M7.3
Dodecanese; Crete; Cyprus; Egypt
31 Jan 1741 · 202 km away · intensity VIII
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.