Reviewed by USGSBosnia and Herzegovina2y ago
M4.0 earthquake 21 km ENE of Bileća, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Tuesday, April 2, 2024, 19:07:42 UTC · 42.974°N, 18.653°E
A magnitude 4.0 earthquake struck 21 km ENE of Bileća, Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, 19:07:42 UTC, at a depth of 13.1 km (shallow). USGS received 5 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of III (weak).
- Magnitude
- 4.0
- Light · mwr
- Depth
- 13 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 5
- Max intensity III
- 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
15 tons of TNT
That is about 1/998 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 32 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
424 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
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pljevlja, Montenegro, Serbia and Montenegro | III · Weak | 3 | 73 km |
| Kobilja Glava, Federacija Bosna i Hercegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina | III · Weak | 1 | 103 km |
| Čilipi, Dubrovnik-Neretva, Croatia | II · Weak | 1 | 57 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 M4.4 on April 3, 2024. 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 199 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 · 108 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.76 km NW of Lukovo, North MacedoniaNovember 30, 1967 · 236 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.59 km E of Stari Bar, MontenegroJune 1, 1905 · 110 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.415 km WSW of Mamurras, AlbaniaNovember 26, 2019 · 178 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.24 km ENE of Baška Voda, CroatiaJanuary 11, 1962 · 141 km W of this epicenter
- 6.28 km WSW of Budva, MontenegroMay 24, 1979 · 80 km S of this epicenter
- 6.24 km ESE of Rrëshen, AlbaniaAugust 4, 1905 · 172 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.22 km SE of Grabovci, CroatiaDecember 29, 1942 · 129 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 76 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 4,024 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1851M6.6
Vlore (Valona),Berat; Turkey
12 Oct 1851 · 288 km away · intensity XI
2,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1963M6.0
Macedonia: Skopje
26 Jul 1963 · 238 km away · intensity X
1,070 deaths$1.0 billion damage
- 1851
Berat
17 Oct 1851 · 288 km away · intensity X
400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1979M6.9
Montenegro
15 Apr 1979 · 108 km away · intensity IX
131 deaths$2.7 billion damagetsunami
- 1905M6.6
Shkoder
1 Jun 1905 · 124 km away · intensity X
120 deaths$24 million damage
- 1866M6.6
Narta, Vlore, Kanina
2 Jan 1866 · 295 km away · intensity X
60 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.