Reviewed by USGSGreece46y ago
M3.5 earthquake 13 km NE of Perachóra, Greece
Friday, May 15, 1981, 09:36:17 UTC · 38.112°N, 23.063°E
A magnitude 3.5 earthquake struck 13 km NE of Perachóra, Greece on Friday, May 15, 1981, 09:36:17 UTC, at a depth of 11.9 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 3.5
- Minor · ml
- Depth
- 12 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
3 tons of TNT
That is about 1/5,615 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 178 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
34 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
12 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 7 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.1 on May 31, 1981. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 3.57 km SSE of Vília, Greece45y ago · 28 km E of this epicenter
- 3.81 km S of Árma, Greece45y ago · 45 km NE of this epicenter
- 3.63 km SW of Thespiés, Greece45y ago · 19 km N of this epicenter
- 3.63 km W of Vília, Greece45y ago · 22 km E of this epicenter
- 4.1Greece45y ago · 18 km E of this epicenter
- 3.43 km SE of Antikyra, Greece46y ago · 45 km NW of this epicenter
- 3.53 km WSW of Vília, Greece46y ago · 21 km E of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 406 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.9Southern GreeceAugust 11, 1903 · 235 km S of this epicenter
- 7.34 km WNW of Koróni, GreeceOctober 6, 1947 · 177 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.2Aegean SeaNovember 8, 1905 · 258 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.055 km S of Mýrina, GreeceFebruary 19, 1968 · 218 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.97 km NNE of Ágios Nikólaos, GreeceSeptember 26, 1932 · 251 km N of this epicenter
- 6.815 km ENE of Póros, GreeceAugust 12, 1953 · 186 km W of this epicenter
- 6.86 km SW of Galaxídhion, GreeceMarch 31, 1965 · 69 km W of this epicenter
- 6.7Ionian SeaNovember 15, 1959 · 221 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 140 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 28,246 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1883M7.3
Ayvalik, Izmir, Cesme
15 Oct 1883 · 275 km away · intensity X
15,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1881M7.3
Khios; Turkey: Cesme
3 Apr 1881 · 279 km away · intensity XI
7,866 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1750
Morea,Cerigo
7 Jun 1750 · 213 km away · intensity X
2,000 deaths
- 1953M7.2
Lixouri-Argostoli (Kephallenia)
12 Aug 1953 · 199 km away · intensity X
476 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1820M6.9
Zakinthos (Zante)
29 Dec 1820 · 164 km away · intensity X
388 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1886M6.8
Triphylie (Peleponese), Philiatra
27 Aug 1886 · 165 km away · intensity X
326 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.