Reviewed by USGSMontenegro47y ago
M4.5 earthquake 11 km SW of Sutomore, Montenegro
Thursday, August 2, 1979, 14:41:46 UTC · 42.060°N, 18.955°E
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 11 km SW of Sutomore, Montenegro on Thursday, August 2, 1979, 14:41:46 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.8 on July 4, 1979.
- Magnitude
- 4.5
- Light · ml
- 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
85 tons of TNT
That is about 1/178 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 6 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
330 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 M4.2 on August 17, 1979. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 3.331 km SW of Budva, Montenegro47y ago · 31 km W of this epicenter
- 3.99 km WSW of Budva, Montenegro47y ago · 27 km NW of this epicenter
- 4.27 km SSE of Ulcinj, Montenegro47y ago · 34 km SE of this epicenter
- 4.113 km S of Herceg Novi, Montenegro47y ago · 45 km NW of this epicenter
- 4.114 km S of Herceg Novi, Montenegro47y ago · 45 km NW of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 157 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 · 21 km E of this epicenter
- 6.76 km NW of Lukovo, North MacedoniaNovember 30, 1967 · 152 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.617 km NNW of Bilisht, AlbaniaFebruary 18, 1911 · 216 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.59 km E of Stari Bar, MontenegroJune 1, 1905 · 24 km E of this epicenter
- 6.24 km ENE of Baška Voda, CroatiaJanuary 11, 1962 · 216 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.211 km SSW of Maliq, AlbaniaMay 26, 1960 · 213 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.28 km WSW of Budva, MontenegroMay 24, 1979 · 27 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.24 km ESE of Rrëshen, AlbaniaAugust 4, 1905 · 88 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 72 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 8,725 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1731M6.3
Foggia
20 Mar 1731 · 293 km away · intensity X
3,600 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1851M6.6
Vlore (Valona),Berat; Turkey
12 Oct 1851 · 184 km away · intensity XI
2,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1963M6.0
Macedonia: Skopje
26 Jul 1963 · 194 km away · intensity X
1,070 deaths$1.0 billion damage
- 1851
Melfi, Rapolla, Barile, Rionero, Mt Vulture
14 Aug 1851 · 295 km away · intensity XI
671 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1851
Berat
17 Oct 1851 · 184 km away · intensity X
400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1920M6.2
Tepelene, Dragoti, Peshtani, Maricaj
26 Nov 1920 · 225 km away · intensity XI
200 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.