Reviewed by USGSMontenegro8y ago
M5.1 earthquake 9 km NW of Plav, Montenegro
Thursday, January 4, 2018, 10:46:11 UTC · 42.660°N, 19.862°E
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 9 km NW of Plav, Montenegro on Thursday, January 4, 2018, 10:46:11 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). USGS received 9 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of IV (light). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.1 on September 11, 2016.
- Magnitude
- 5.1
- Moderate · mww
- Depth
- 10 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 9
- Max intensity IV
- Est. shaking
- V
- Moderate (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
674 tons of TNT
That is about 1/22 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
416 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Eurasian and African plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
10 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
Reports sent by people to USGS, grouped by place (most reports first). Intensity uses the Modified Mercalli scale (I–X): what people felt, not the magnitude.
| Place | Intensity | Reports | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Podgorica, Montenegro, Serbia and Montenegro | III · Weak | 1 | 53 km |
| Durrës, Durrës, Albania | III · Weak | 1 | 151 km |
| Tirana, Tirana, Albania | II · Weak | 1 | 148 km |
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 205 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.07 km SE of Stara Kresna, BulgariaApril 4, 1904 · 296 km E of this epicenter
- 6.96 km E of Stari Bar, MontenegroApril 15, 1979 · 83 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.86 km W of Stara Kresna, BulgariaApril 4, 1904 · 284 km E of this epicenter
- 6.76 km NW of Lukovo, North MacedoniaNovember 30, 1967 · 152 km S of this epicenter
- 6.73 km SW of Kuklis, North MacedoniaMarch 8, 1931 · 270 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.617 km NNW of Bilisht, AlbaniaFebruary 18, 1911 · 227 km S of this epicenter
- 6.59 km E of Stari Bar, MontenegroJune 1, 1905 · 81 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.24 km ENE of Baška Voda, CroatiaJanuary 11, 1962 · 245 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 94 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 4,341 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1851M6.6
Vlore (Valona),Berat; Turkey
12 Oct 1851 · 241 km away · intensity XI
2,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1963M6.0
Macedonia: Skopje
26 Jul 1963 · 133 km away · intensity X
1,070 deaths$1.0 billion damage
- 1851
Berat
17 Oct 1851 · 241 km away · intensity X
400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1920M6.2
Tepelene, Dragoti, Peshtani, Maricaj
26 Nov 1920 · 274 km away · intensity XI
200 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1979M6.9
Montenegro
15 Apr 1979 · 83 km away · intensity IX
131 deaths$2.7 billion damagetsunami
- 1905M6.6
Shkoder
1 Jun 1905 · 66 km away · intensity X
120 deaths$24 million damage
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.