M6.9 earthquake 21 km SSW of Kamariótissa, Greece

Saturday, May 24, 2014, 09:25:02 UTC · 40.289°N, 25.389°E

A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck 21 km SSW of Kamariótissa, Greece on Saturday, May 24, 2014, 09:25:02 UTC, at a depth of 6.4 km (shallow). USGS received 251 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of IX (violent). The USGS PAGER alert is green: low likelihood of casualties and damage. It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.2 on December 19, 1981.

Magnitude: 6.9; Strong · mww
Depth: 6 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 251; Max intensity IX
Est. shaking: VII; Very strong (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: Green; Impact estimate
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

338 kilotons of TNT

That is about 22 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 708 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

14 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Anatolian and Eurasian plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.

Depth: shallow

6 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
İstanbul, İstanbul, Turkey	III · Weak	34	318 km
Sultanbeyli, İstanbul, Turkey	III · Weak	13	338 km
Sofia, Sofija grad, Bulgaria	IV · Light	12	318 km
Büyükçekmece, İstanbul, Turkey	IV · Light	11	297 km
İzmir, İzmir, Turkey	III · Weak	10	256 km
Bucharest, Bukarest, Romania	III · Weak	6	464 km
Alexandroúpoli, Évros, Greece	VI · Strong	5	74 km
Bursa, Bursa, Turkey	III · Weak	5	314 km
Çanakkale, Çanakkale, Turkey	VII · Very strong	4	88 km
Esenyurt, İstanbul, Turkey	V · Moderate	4	289 km
Popeşti-Leordeni, Ilfov, Romania	III · Weak	4	458 km
Gebze, Kocaeli, Turkey	IV · Light	3	348 km

I felt it — report to USGS ↗

USGS PAGER estimate

Who was exposed to shaking

USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No populated area was estimated to feel noticeable shaking.

After the main event

Aftershocks within 100 km

USGS lists 17 M2.5+ earthquakes within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.9 on May 25, 2014. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 289 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

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 29,984 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1883M7.3
Ayvalik, Izmir, Cesme
15 Oct 1883 · 232 km away · intensity X
15,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
1881M7.3
Khios; Turkey: Cesme
3 Apr 1881 · 239 km away · intensity XI
7,866 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
1912M7.2
Marmara Sea
9 Aug 1912 · 154 km away
2,800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
1894M6.7
Turkey
10 Jul 1894 · 282 km away · intensity X
1,349 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1953M7.3
Yenice, Onon
18 Mar 1953 · 192 km away
1,070 deaths$4 million damage
1867M7.0
Mitilini; Turkey: Izmir
7 Mar 1867 · 149 km away
563 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers