Reviewed by USGSGreece46y ago
M3.4 earthquake 7 km SSW of Kaparéllion, Greece
Sunday, May 3, 1981, 12:40:03 UTC · 38.181°N, 23.169°E
A magnitude 3.4 earthquake struck 7 km SSW of Kaparéllion, Greece on Sunday, May 3, 1981, 12:40:03 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 3.4
- Minor · 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
2 tons of TNT
That is about 1/7,931 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 251 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
39 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
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 10 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.3 on May 9, 1981. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 3.63 km W of Vília, Greece45y ago · 12 km E of this epicenter
- 4.1Greece45y ago · 11 km SE of this epicenter
- 3.43 km SE of Antikyra, Greece46y ago · 49 km NW of this epicenter
- 3.53 km WSW of Vília, Greece46y ago · 12 km E of this epicenter
- 3.513 km NE of Perachóra, Greece46y ago · 12 km SW of this epicenter
- 3.85 km E of Vágia, Greece46y ago · 16 km NE of this epicenter
- 3.812 km SW of Vília, Greece46y ago · 12 km SE of this epicenter
- 3.42 km S of Thívai, Greece46y ago · 19 km NE of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 407 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.9Southern GreeceAugust 11, 1903 · 243 km S of this epicenter
- 7.719 km SSE of Amorgós, GreeceJuly 9, 1956 · 298 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.34 km WNW of Koróni, GreeceOctober 6, 1947 · 188 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.2Aegean SeaNovember 8, 1905 · 247 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.29 km NNW of Karaburun, TurkeyJuly 23, 1949 · 294 km E of this epicenter
- 7.055 km S of Mýrina, GreeceFebruary 19, 1968 · 206 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.97 km NNE of Ágios Nikólaos, GreeceSeptember 26, 1932 · 242 km N of this epicenter
- 6.815 km ENE of Póros, GreeceAugust 12, 1953 · 195 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 143 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 28,314 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1883M7.3
Ayvalik, Izmir, Cesme
15 Oct 1883 · 265 km away · intensity X
15,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1881M7.3
Khios; Turkey: Cesme
3 Apr 1881 · 269 km away · intensity XI
7,866 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1750
Morea,Cerigo
7 Jun 1750 · 221 km away · intensity X
2,000 deaths
- 1953M7.2
Lixouri-Argostoli (Kephallenia)
12 Aug 1953 · 207 km away · intensity X
476 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1820M6.9
Zakinthos (Zante)
29 Dec 1820 · 175 km away · intensity X
388 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1886M6.8
Triphylie (Peleponese), Philiatra
27 Aug 1886 · 177 km away · intensity X
326 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.