Reviewed by USGS45y ago
M3.3 earthquake in Aegean Sea
Tuesday, March 9, 1982, 15:15:29 UTC · 38.949°N, 25.030°E
A magnitude 3.3 earthquake struck in Aegean Sea on Tuesday, March 9, 1982, 15:15:29 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 3.3
- 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
1 tons of TNT
That is about 1/11,203 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 355 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
111 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 7 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.9 on March 18, 1982. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 3.334 km ESE of Skýros, Greece45y ago · 23 km SW of this epicenter
- 3.661 km W of Eresós, Greece45y ago · 24 km NE of this epicenter
- 3.228 km E of Skýros, Greece45y ago · 16 km SW of this epicenter
- 4.932 km E of Skýros, Greece45y ago · 13 km SW of this epicenter
- 4.255 km ENE of Skýros, Greece45y ago · 19 km NE of this epicenter
- 4.025 km SSE of Skýros, Greece45y ago · 38 km SW of this epicenter
- 4.032 km ESE of Skýros, Greece45y ago · 15 km SW of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 291 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 · 267 km S of this epicenter
- 7.37 km N of Gönen, TurkeyMarch 18, 1953 · 263 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2Aegean SeaNovember 8, 1905 · 132 km N of this epicenter
- 7.225 km SE of Malkara, TurkeyAugust 9, 1912 · 267 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.261 km W of Eresós, GreeceDecember 19, 1981 · 37 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.29 km NNW of Karaburun, TurkeyJuly 23, 1949 · 128 km E of this epicenter
- 7.03 km ESE of Soma, TurkeyNovember 18, 1919 · 228 km E of this epicenter
- 7.05 km NNW of Kéfalos, GreeceJune 26, 1926 · 292 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 104 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 28,872 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1883M7.3
Ayvalik, Izmir, Cesme
15 Oct 1883 · 125 km away · intensity X
15,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1881M7.3
Khios; Turkey: Cesme
3 Apr 1881 · 131 km away · intensity XI
7,866 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1912M7.2
Marmara Sea
9 Aug 1912 · 267 km away
2,800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1953M7.3
Yenice, Onon
18 Mar 1953 · 263 km away
1,070 deaths$4 million damage
- 1867M7.0
Mitilini; Turkey: Izmir
7 Mar 1867 · 122 km away
563 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1894M6.7
Locride, Malesina-Martinon (Lokris)
20 Apr 1894 · 163 km away · intensity X
255 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.