Reviewed by USGSTurkey51y ago
M4.6 earthquake 16 km NW of Lice, Turkey
Wednesday, September 24, 1975, 15:41:15 UTC · 38.576°N, 40.527°E
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 16 km NW of Lice, Turkey on Wednesday, September 24, 1975, 15:41:15 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.6 on September 17, 1975.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 33 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- IV
- Light (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
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
29 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
33 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 3 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.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 91 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 · 169 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.918 km ESE of Pasinler, TurkeySeptember 13, 1924 · 191 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.813 km NNE of Sincik, TurkeyDecember 4, 1905 · 171 km W of this epicenter
- 6.814 km NE of Varto, TurkeyAugust 19, 1966 · 119 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.814 km ENE of Yedisu, TurkeyAugust 17, 1949 · 104 km N of this epicenter
- 6.77 km ENE of Lice, TurkeySeptember 6, 1975 · 20 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.6TurkeyMay 22, 1971 · 37 km N of this epicenter
- 6.326 km ENE of Koyulhisar, TurkeyFebruary 9, 1909 · 291 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 45 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 65,752 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1939M7.8
Erzincan
26 Dec 1939 · 169 km away · intensity XII
32,700 deaths$20 million damagetsunami
- 1859M6.1
Erzurum
2 Jun 1859 · 162 km away
15,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1784
Erzurum,Erzincan
23 Jul 1784 · 153 km away
5,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1903M6.3
Malazgirt
28 Apr 1903 · 181 km away · intensity X
3,560 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1966M6.8
Varto
19 Aug 1966 · 116 km away · intensity IX
2,394 deaths$20 million damage
- 1975M6.7
Lice
6 Sep 1975 · 20 km away · intensity IX
2,311 deaths$17 million damage
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.