M4.9 earthquake in Western Turkey

Sunday, May 25, 2014, 11:38:38 UTC · 40.423°N, 26.144°E

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck in Western Turkey on Sunday, May 25, 2014, 11:38:38 UTC, at a depth of 13.1 km (shallow). USGS received 8 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of III (weak). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.9 on May 24, 2014.

Magnitude: 4.9; Light · mwr
Depth: 13 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 8; 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

338 tons of TNT

That is about 1/45 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 1 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

4 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

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
İstanbul, İstanbul, Turkey	III · Weak	2	252 km
Gökçeada, Çanakkale, Turkey	III · Weak	1	35 km
Edirne, Edirne, Turkey	II · Weak	1	145 km
Lüleburgaz, Kırklareli, Turkey	II · Weak	1	151 km
Büyükçekmece, İstanbul, Turkey	II · Weak	1	232 km
Sofia, Sofija grad, Bulgaria	II · Weak	1	345 km
Sultanbeyli, İstanbul, Turkey	I · Not felt	1	272 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 PAGER estimate is available for this event.

After the main event

Aftershocks within 50 km

USGS lists 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.4 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 271 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 91 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 45,436 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1883M7.3
Ayvalik, Izmir, Cesme
15 Oct 1883 · 236 km away · intensity X
15,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
1881M7.3
Khios; Turkey: Cesme
3 Apr 1881 · 242 km away · intensity XI
7,866 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
1719
Turkey
25 May 1719 · 278 km away · intensity X
6,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
1766M6.5
Turkey
22 May 1766 · 245 km away · intensity X
4,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
1912M7.2
Marmara Sea
9 Aug 1912 · 89 km away
2,800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
1855M6.7
Tayabas, Bursa
28 Feb 1855 · 252 km away · intensity X
2,200 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

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

Nearby trackers