Reviewed by USGSCroatia6y ago
M3.4 earthquake 7 km ESE of Gornja Bistra, Croatia
Sunday, March 22, 2020, 06:41:06 UTC · 45.899°N, 15.993°E
A magnitude 3.4 earthquake struck 7 km ESE of Gornja Bistra, Croatia on Sunday, March 22, 2020, 06:41:06 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). USGS received 7 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of VI (strong).
- Magnitude
- 3.4
- Minor · ml
- Depth
- 10 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 7
- Max intensity VI
- 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
2 tons of TNT
That is about 1/7,931 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 251 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
760 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zagreb, Grad Zagreb, Croatia | VI · Strong | 3 | 15 km |
| Zabok, Krapina-Zagorje, Croatia | VI · Strong | 1 | 18 km |
| Brestanica, Spodnjeposavska, Slovenia | IV · Light | 1 | 42 km |
| Maribor, Podravska, Slovenia | III · Weak | 1 | 77 km |
| Graz, Steiermark, Austria | II · Weak | 1 | 138 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 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M3.2 on March 24, 2020. 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 98 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.53 km SW of Prato, ItalyMay 6, 1976 · 216 km W of this epicenter
- 6.24 km ENE of Baška Voda, CroatiaJanuary 11, 1962 · 293 km S of this epicenter
- 6.22 km SE of Grabovci, CroatiaDecember 29, 1942 · 286 km S of this epicenter
- 6.11 km WNW of Lestans, ItalyJune 17, 1976 · 243 km W of this epicenter
- 6.14 km ENE of Trn, Bosnia and HerzegovinaOctober 27, 1969 · 153 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.15 km WSW of Jezero, Bosnia and HerzegovinaOctober 26, 1969 · 158 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.05 km NNE of Isola, ItalySeptember 15, 1976 · 220 km W of this epicenter
- 6.028 km NNE of Montignano-Marzocca, ItalyOctober 30, 1930 · 298 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 48 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 1,217 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1976M6.5
Ne, Balkans Nw: Slovenia: Nw
6 May 1976 · 216 km away · intensity X
978 deaths$3.6 billion damage
- 1763M6.2
Gyor; Czechoslovakia: Komarom
28 Jun 1763 · 261 km away · intensity IX
83 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1873
Bellunese
29 Jun 1873 · 279 km away · intensity X
55 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1943
Bosnia-Herzegovina
29 Jan 1943 · 195 km away
19 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1930M6.0
Senigallia
30 Oct 1930 · 298 km away · intensity IX
18 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1969M6.0
Bosnia-Herzegovina: Banja Luka
26 Oct 1969 · 151 km away · intensity VIII
14 deaths$50 million damage
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.