Reviewed by USGSTurkey51y ago
M4.6 earthquake 11 km W of Lice, Turkey
Wednesday, September 17, 1975, 11:21:24 UTC · 38.458°N, 40.505°E
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 11 km W of Lice, Turkey on Wednesday, September 17, 1975, 11:21:24 UTC, at a depth of 44.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.6 on September 12, 1975.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 44 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- 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
120 tons of TNT
That is about 1/126 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 4 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
41 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Anatolian and Arabian plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
44 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
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
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 6 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.7 on October 3, 1975. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 4.322 km NW of Kulp, Turkey51y ago · 32 km NE of this epicenter
- 4.52 km NNW of Genç, Turkey51y ago · 35 km N of this epicenter
- 4.710 km NE of Lice, Turkey51y ago · 20 km NE of this epicenter
- 4.616 km NW of Lice, Turkey51y ago · 13 km N of this epicenter
- 4.411 km ENE of Kocaköy, Turkey51y ago · 18 km SE of this epicenter
- 4.520 km ESE of Genç, Turkey51y ago · 33 km NE of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 90 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.820 km NNE of Erzincan, TurkeyDecember 26, 1939 · 180 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.918 km ESE of Pasinler, TurkeySeptember 13, 1924 · 203 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.813 km NNE of Sincik, TurkeyDecember 4, 1905 · 166 km W of this epicenter
- 6.814 km NE of Varto, TurkeyAugust 19, 1966 · 129 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.814 km ENE of Yedisu, TurkeyAugust 17, 1949 · 117 km N of this epicenter
- 6.77 km ENE of Lice, TurkeySeptember 6, 1975 · 19 km E of this epicenter
- 6.6TurkeyMay 22, 1971 · 50 km N of this epicenter
- 6.326 km ENE of Koyulhisar, TurkeyFebruary 9, 1909 · 299 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 43 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 65,612 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1939M7.8
Erzincan
26 Dec 1939 · 180 km away · intensity XII
32,700 deaths$20 million damagetsunami
- 1859M6.1
Erzurum
2 Jun 1859 · 174 km away
15,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1784
Erzurum,Erzincan
23 Jul 1784 · 163 km away
5,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1903M6.3
Malazgirt
28 Apr 1903 · 187 km away · intensity X
3,560 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1966M6.8
Varto
19 Aug 1966 · 127 km away · intensity IX
2,394 deaths$20 million damage
- 1975M6.7
Lice
6 Sep 1975 · 19 km away · intensity IX
2,311 deaths$17 million damage
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.