Reviewed by USGSGreece112y ago
M5.4 earthquake in Crete, Greece
Thursday, June 24, 1915, 06:17:26 UTC · 34.338°N, 24.796°E
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck in Crete, Greece on Thursday, June 24, 1915, 06:17:26 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.7 on June 24, 1915.
- 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
2 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 11 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.9Southern GreeceAugust 11, 1903 · 247 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.129 km ENE of Mesariá, GreeceApril 4, 1911 · 258 km N of this epicenter
- 6.125 km NW of Kastrí, GreeceMay 17, 1908 · 110 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.832 km N of Agía Marína, GreeceFebruary 18, 1910 · 179 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.825 km SSE of Kastrí, GreeceSeptember 30, 1913 · 63 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.8155 km N of Al Qubbah, LibyaFebruary 2, 1907 · 237 km W of this epicenter
- 5.752 km SSW of Pýrgos, GreeceJune 24, 1915 · 31 km NE of this epicenter
- 5.612 km S of Ierápetra, GreeceAugust 21, 1910 · 105 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 12 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 5,602 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1810
Crete: Iraklion (Candia)
16 Feb 1810 · 131 km away · intensity X
3,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1750
Morea,Cerigo
7 Jun 1750 · 264 km away · intensity X
2,000 deaths
- 1856
Crete; Egypt
12 Oct 1856 · 170 km away · intensity XI
600 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1903M7.8
Mitata (Kythera)
11 Aug 1903 · 247 km away · intensity XI
2 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1866M6.8
Ionian Sea, Amalias, Gargalianoi, Kalamai
6 Feb 1866 · 247 km away · intensity VIII
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1815
Crete
Dec 1815 · 114 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.