Reviewed by USGSGreece45y ago
M3.5 earthquake 7 km SSE of Vília, Greece
Friday, June 12, 1981, 14:16:12 UTC · 38.107°N, 23.385°E
A magnitude 3.5 earthquake struck 7 km SSE of Vília, Greece on Friday, June 12, 1981, 14:16:12 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 3.5
- Minor · ml
- Depth
- 33 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
59 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
33 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 8 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.3 on July 2, 1981. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 4.36 km SW of Thívai, Greece45y ago · 22 km NW of this epicenter
- 4.15 km S of Thívai, Greece45y ago · 20 km N of this epicenter
- 4.27 km ENE of Vília, Greece45y ago · 11 km N of this epicenter
- 3.310 km WSW of Vília, Greece45y ago · 14 km W of this epicenter
- 3.97 km SSW of Vília, Greece45y ago · 6 km W of this epicenter
- 4.06 km SSE of Vília, Greece45y ago · 2 km W of this epicenter
- 4.35 km NE of Kinéta, Greece45y ago · 16 km SW of this epicenter
- 4.03 km NW of Kinéta, Greece45y ago · 22 km SW of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 413 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.9Southern GreeceAugust 11, 1903 · 237 km S of this epicenter
- 7.719 km SSE of Amorgós, GreeceJuly 9, 1956 · 278 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.34 km WNW of Koróni, GreeceOctober 6, 1947 · 194 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.2Aegean SeaNovember 8, 1905 · 245 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.29 km NNW of Karaburun, TurkeyJuly 23, 1949 · 278 km E of this epicenter
- 7.055 km S of Mýrina, GreeceFebruary 19, 1968 · 198 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.97 km NNE of Ágios Nikólaos, GreeceSeptember 26, 1932 · 247 km N of this epicenter
- 6.815 km ENE of Póros, GreeceAugust 12, 1953 · 214 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 145 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 28,871 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1883M7.3
Ayvalik, Izmir, Cesme
15 Oct 1883 · 247 km away · intensity X
15,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1881M7.3
Khios; Turkey: Cesme
3 Apr 1881 · 251 km away · intensity XI
7,866 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1750
Morea,Cerigo
7 Jun 1750 · 215 km away · intensity X
2,000 deaths
- 1867M7.0
Mitilini; Turkey: Izmir
7 Mar 1867 · 289 km away
563 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1953M7.2
Lixouri-Argostoli (Kephallenia)
12 Aug 1953 · 227 km away · intensity X
476 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1820M6.9
Zakinthos (Zante)
29 Dec 1820 · 191 km away · intensity X
388 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.