Reviewed by USGSGreece45y ago
M3.2 earthquake 37 km W of Psará, Greece
Saturday, January 23, 1982, 03:29:52 UTC · 38.607°N, 25.143°E
A magnitude 3.2 earthquake struck 37 km W of Psará, Greece on Saturday, January 23, 1982, 03:29:52 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 3.2
- 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
951 kg of TNT
That is about 1/15,825 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 501 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
137 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Aegean Sea and Anatolian 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 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M3.7 on January 29, 1982. 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 308 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.719 km SSE of Amorgós, GreeceJuly 9, 1956 · 228 km S of this epicenter
- 7.37 km N of Gönen, TurkeyMarch 18, 1953 · 277 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2Aegean SeaNovember 8, 1905 · 171 km N of this epicenter
- 7.225 km SE of Malkara, TurkeyAugust 9, 1912 · 290 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.261 km W of Eresós, GreeceDecember 19, 1981 · 71 km N of this epicenter
- 7.29 km NNW of Karaburun, TurkeyJuly 23, 1949 · 117 km E of this epicenter
- 7.03 km ESE of Soma, TurkeyNovember 18, 1919 · 226 km E of this epicenter
- 7.05 km NNW of Kéfalos, GreeceJune 26, 1926 · 256 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 108 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 29,012 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1883M7.3
Ayvalik, Izmir, Cesme
15 Oct 1883 · 98 km away · intensity X
15,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1881M7.3
Khios; Turkey: Cesme
3 Apr 1881 · 104 km away · intensity XI
7,866 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1912M7.2
Marmara Sea
9 Aug 1912 · 290 km away
2,800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1953M7.3
Yenice, Onon
18 Mar 1953 · 277 km away
1,070 deaths$4 million damage
- 1867M7.0
Mitilini; Turkey: Izmir
7 Mar 1867 · 127 km away
563 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1894M6.7
Locride, Malesina-Martinon (Lokris)
20 Apr 1894 · 169 km away · intensity X
255 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.