Reviewed by USGSGreece46y ago
M4.6 earthquake 15 km WSW of Lidoríki, Greece
Tuesday, April 14, 1981, 14:00:42 UTC · 38.490°N, 22.028°E
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 15 km WSW of Lidoríki, Greece on Tuesday, April 14, 1981, 14:00:42 UTC, at a depth of 35.7 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.9 on March 12, 1981.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 36 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
13 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Aegean Sea and Eurasian plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
36 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 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M3.2 on April 14, 1981. 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 417 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.9Southern GreeceAugust 11, 1903 · 290 km S of this epicenter
- 7.34 km WNW of Koróni, GreeceOctober 6, 1947 · 187 km S of this epicenter
- 7.2Aegean SeaNovember 8, 1905 · 286 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.055 km S of Mýrina, GreeceFebruary 19, 1968 · 273 km E of this epicenter
- 6.97 km NNE of Ágios Nikólaos, GreeceSeptember 26, 1932 · 250 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.815 km ENE of Póros, GreeceAugust 12, 1953 · 101 km W of this epicenter
- 6.86 km SW of Galaxídhion, GreeceMarch 31, 1965 · 31 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.7Ionian SeaNovember 15, 1959 · 146 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 150 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 8,215 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1851M6.6
Vlore (Valona),Berat; Turkey
12 Oct 1851 · 300 km away · intensity XI
2,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1750
Morea,Cerigo
7 Jun 1750 · 269 km away · intensity X
2,000 deaths
- 1953M7.2
Lixouri-Argostoli (Kephallenia)
12 Aug 1953 · 109 km away · intensity X
476 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1851
Berat
17 Oct 1851 · 300 km away · intensity X
400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1820M6.9
Zakinthos (Zante)
29 Dec 1820 · 107 km away · intensity X
388 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1886M6.8
Triphylie (Peleponese), Philiatra
27 Aug 1886 · 157 km away · intensity X
326 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.