Reviewed by USGSGreece48y ago
M3.2 earthquake 3 km NNW of Sochós, Greece
Thursday, August 3, 1978, 03:35:16 UTC · 40.851°N, 23.343°E
A magnitude 3.2 earthquake struck 3 km NNW of Sochós, Greece on Thursday, August 3, 1978, 03:35:16 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 3.2
- Minor · mb
- Depth
- 10 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
951 kg of TNT
That is about 1/15,825 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 501 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
117 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Aegean Sea and Eurasian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
10 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 4 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M3.7 on August 6, 1978. 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 271 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.2Aegean SeaNovember 8, 1905 · 138 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.19 km S of Stara Zagora, BulgariaApril 14, 1928 · 254 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.13 km W of Brezovo, BulgariaApril 18, 1928 · 219 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.07 km SE of Stara Kresna, BulgariaApril 4, 1904 · 101 km N of this epicenter
- 7.055 km S of Mýrina, GreeceFebruary 19, 1968 · 214 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.97 km NNE of Ágios Nikólaos, GreeceSeptember 26, 1932 · 69 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.86 km W of Stara Kresna, BulgariaApril 4, 1904 · 108 km N of this epicenter
- 6.86 km SW of Galaxídhion, GreeceMarch 31, 1965 · 293 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 86 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,596 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1963M6.0
Macedonia: Skopje
26 Jul 1963 · 220 km away · intensity X
1,070 deaths$1.0 billion damage
- 1894M6.7
Locride, Malesina-Martinon (Lokris)
20 Apr 1894 · 251 km away · intensity X
255 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1920M6.2
Tepelene, Dragoti, Peshtani, Maricaj
26 Nov 1920 · 292 km away · intensity XI
200 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1932M6.9
Hierissos-Strantonion (Chalkidiki)
26 Sep 1932 · 61 km away · intensity X
161 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1928M6.8
Chirpan
14 Apr 1928 · 221 km away · intensity X
127 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1870M7.5
Greece
30 Sep 1870 · 271 km away
100 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.