Reviewed by USGSBosnia and Herzegovina6y ago
M5.3 earthquake 4 km SSE of Blagaj, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Tuesday, November 26, 2019, 09:19:25 UTC · 43.224°N, 17.912°E
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 4 km SSE of Blagaj, Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday, November 26, 2019, 09:19:25 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). USGS received 185 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of VII (very strong). The USGS PAGER alert is yellow: some casualties and damage are possible. It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.5 on November 26, 2019.
- Magnitude
- 5.3
- Moderate · mww
- Depth
- 10 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 185
- Max intensity VII
- Est. shaking
- VIII
- Severe (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- Yellow
- Impact estimate
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
1 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/11 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 3 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
448 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kobilja Glava, Federacija Bosna i Hercegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina | IV · Light | 27 | 83 km |
| Belgrade, Central Serbia, Serbia and Montenegro | II · Weak | 26 | 273 km |
| Sarajevo, Federacija Bosna i Hercegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina | IV · Light | 23 | 79 km |
| Split, Split-Dalmacija, Croatia | III · Weak | 13 | 123 km |
| Mostar, Federacija Bosna i Hercegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina | VI · Strong | 12 | 18 km |
| Podgorica, Montenegro, Serbia and Montenegro | III · Weak | 10 | 140 km |
| Dubrovnik, Dubrovnik-Neretva, Croatia | IV · Light | 6 | 64 km |
| Novi Sad, Vojvodina, Serbia and Montenegro | II · Weak | 6 | 273 km |
| Konjic, Federacija Bosna i Hercegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina | V · Moderate | 4 | 48 km |
| Trebinje, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina | IV · Light | 4 | 67 km |
| Čilipi, Dubrovnik-Neretva, Croatia | V · Moderate | 3 | 81 km |
| Zenica, Federacija Bosna i Hercegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina | IV · Light | 3 | 108 km |
USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
Modelled from the ShakeMap and population data. Alert level yellow: some casualties and damage are possible.
- VII · Very strong shaking
- 26,000 people
- VI · Strong shaking
- 106,000 people
- V · Moderate shaking
- 173,000 people
- IV · Light shaking
- 1.3 million people
- III · Weak shaking
- 87,000 people
Estimated shaking in nearby towns
- BlagajPopulation 4,700VII · Very strong
- CrniciPopulation 5,800VII · Very strong
- MostarPopulation 105,000VI · Strong
- CitlukPopulation 5,700VI · Strong
- RodocPopulation 5,200VI · Strong
- CimPopulation 4,000VI · Strong
- Herceg-NovicapitalPopulation 20,000IV · Light
- SarajevocapitalPopulation 697,000IV · Light
After the main event
Aftershocks within 75 km
USGS lists 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.3 on December 1, 2019. 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 164 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.96 km E of Stari Bar, MontenegroApril 15, 1979 · 164 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.76 km NW of Lukovo, North MacedoniaNovember 30, 1967 · 298 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.59 km E of Stari Bar, MontenegroJune 1, 1905 · 167 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.415 km WSW of Mamurras, AlbaniaNovember 26, 2019 · 232 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.24 km ENE of Baška Voda, CroatiaJanuary 11, 1962 · 75 km W of this epicenter
- 6.28 km WSW of Budva, MontenegroMay 24, 1979 · 128 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.24 km ESE of Rrëshen, AlbaniaAugust 4, 1905 · 233 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.22 km SE of Grabovci, CroatiaDecember 29, 1942 · 62 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 67 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 4,087 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1731M6.3
Foggia
20 Mar 1731 · 276 km away · intensity X
3,600 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1979M6.9
Montenegro
15 Apr 1979 · 164 km away · intensity IX
131 deaths$2.7 billion damagetsunami
- 1905M6.6
Shkoder
1 Jun 1905 · 186 km away · intensity X
120 deaths$24 million damage
- 2019M6.4
Durres, Thumane, Tirana
26 Nov 2019 · 233 km away
51 deaths$1.1 billion damage
- 1942M6.0
Peshkopia, Magellare
27 Aug 1942 · 265 km away · intensity X
43 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 2002M5.7
San Guiliano Di Puglia, Campobasso
31 Oct 2002 · 296 km away · intensity VII
30 deaths$796 million damage
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.