Reviewed by USGSMontenegro47y ago
M4.2 earthquake 10 km S of Bar, Montenegro
Wednesday, July 4, 1979, 23:44:15 UTC · 41.996°N, 19.080°E
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 10 km S of Bar, Montenegro on Wednesday, July 4, 1979, 23:44:15 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.2
- Light · 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
30 tons of TNT
That is about 1/500 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 16 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
326 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Eurasian and African 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 5 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.5 on August 2, 1979. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 4.511 km SW of Sutomore, Montenegro47y ago · 13 km NW of this epicenter
- 3.717 km W of Shëngjin, Albania47y ago · 34 km SE of this epicenter
- 3.68 km SW of Ulcinj, Montenegro47y ago · 14 km SE of this epicenter
- 3.99 km WNW of Budva, Montenegro47y ago · 46 km NW of this epicenter
- 3.46 km WNW of Petrovac na Moru, Montenegro47y ago · 31 km NW of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 158 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.96 km E of Stari Bar, MontenegroApril 15, 1979 · 15 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.76 km NW of Lukovo, North MacedoniaNovember 30, 1967 · 139 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.617 km NNW of Bilisht, AlbaniaFebruary 18, 1911 · 204 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.59 km E of Stari Bar, MontenegroJune 1, 1905 · 18 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.24 km ENE of Baška Voda, CroatiaJanuary 11, 1962 · 228 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.211 km SSW of Maliq, AlbaniaMay 26, 1960 · 200 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.28 km WSW of Budva, MontenegroMay 24, 1979 · 40 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.24 km ESE of Rrëshen, AlbaniaAugust 4, 1905 · 75 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 69 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 4,420 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1851M6.6
Vlore (Valona),Berat; Turkey
12 Oct 1851 · 174 km away · intensity XI
2,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1963M6.0
Macedonia: Skopje
26 Jul 1963 · 184 km away · intensity X
1,070 deaths$1.0 billion damage
- 1851
Berat
17 Oct 1851 · 174 km away · intensity X
400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1920M6.2
Tepelene, Dragoti, Peshtani, Maricaj
26 Nov 1920 · 214 km away · intensity XI
200 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1979M6.9
Montenegro
15 Apr 1979 · 15 km away · intensity IX
131 deaths$2.7 billion damagetsunami
- 1905M6.6
Shkoder
1 Jun 1905 · 44 km away · intensity X
120 deaths$24 million damage
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.