Reviewed by USGS3y ago
M4.5 earthquake in Romania
Friday, February 17, 2023, 09:11:40 UTC · 45.076°N, 23.076°E
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck in Romania on Friday, February 17, 2023, 09:11:40 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). USGS received 3 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of V (moderate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.6 on February 14, 2023.
- Magnitude
- 4.5
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 10 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 3
- Max intensity V
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
85 tons of TNT
That is about 1/178 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 6 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
567 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Aegean Sea and Eurasian 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Târgu Jiu, Gorj, Romania | IV · Light | 2 | 17 km |
| Belgrade, Central Serbia, Serbia and Montenegro | I · Not felt | 1 | 205 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 50 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.0 on February 22, 2023. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 70 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.713 km ESE of Comandău, RomaniaNovember 10, 1940 · 271 km E of this epicenter
- 7.52 km N of Spulber, RomaniaMarch 4, 1977 · 298 km E of this epicenter
- 7.27 km NNE of Cașoca, RomaniaAugust 30, 1986 · 259 km E of this epicenter
- 7.0RomaniaMay 30, 1990 · 293 km E of this epicenter
- 6.7RomaniaMarch 29, 1934 · 290 km E of this epicenter
- 6.77 km WNW of Nereju Mic, RomaniaSeptember 7, 1945 · 285 km E of this epicenter
- 6.612 km NNW of Gura Teghii, RomaniaOctober 22, 1940 · 265 km E of this epicenter
- 6.611 km E of Ghelinţa, RomaniaOctober 6, 1908 · 274 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 29 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 1,707 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1977M7.5
Bucharest
4 Mar 1977 · 294 km away
1,641 deaths$2.0 billion damage
- 1838M6.9
Carpathian Fold,Vrancea
23 Jan 1838 · 284 km away · intensity VIII
42 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1990M6.7
Bucharest, Braila, Brasov
30 May 1990 · 293 km away · intensity VI
14 deaths$24 million damage
- 1893
Nw: Popovic
8 Apr 1893 · 178 km away · intensity X
3 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1986M6.9
Bucharest, Kishinev-Kagul
30 Aug 1986 · 259 km away · intensity VIII
2 deaths$730 million damage
- 2010M5.5
Serbia: Kraljevo
3 Nov 2010 · 241 km away · intensity VI
2 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.