Reviewed by USGSGreece44y ago
M3.8 earthquake 67 km SW of Lixoúri, Greece
Sunday, May 15, 1983, 06:26:08 UTC · 37.741°N, 19.928°E
A magnitude 3.8 earthquake struck 67 km SW of Lixoúri, Greece on Sunday, May 15, 1983, 06:26:08 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 3.8
- 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
8 tons of TNT
That is about 1/1,992 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 63 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
20 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Eurasian and African 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 4 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.1 on June 2, 1983. 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 343 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.34 km WNW of Koróni, GreeceOctober 6, 1947 · 204 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.026 km SW of Lixoúri, GreeceJanuary 17, 1983 · 41 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.815 km ENE of Póros, GreeceAugust 12, 1953 · 102 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.86 km SW of Galaxídhion, GreeceMarch 31, 1965 · 220 km E of this epicenter
- 6.7Ionian SeaNovember 15, 1959 · 57 km E of this epicenter
- 6.75 km SW of Domvraína, GreeceFebruary 24, 1981 · 269 km E of this epicenter
- 6.77 km NE of Anávra, GreeceApril 30, 1954 · 255 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.635 km NW of Itháki, GreeceApril 22, 1948 · 103 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 127 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 3,346 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1953M7.2
Lixouri-Argostoli (Kephallenia)
12 Aug 1953 · 98 km away · intensity X
476 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1820M6.9
Zakinthos (Zante)
29 Dec 1820 · 116 km away · intensity X
388 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1886M6.8
Triphylie (Peleponese), Philiatra
27 Aug 1886 · 172 km away · intensity X
326 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1767M6.7
Kefalonia
11 Jul 1767 · 75 km away · intensity X
303 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1867M7.2
Cephalonia
4 Feb 1867 · 70 km away · intensity X
223 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1920M6.2
Tepelene, Dragoti, Peshtani, Maricaj
26 Nov 1920 · 273 km away · intensity XI
200 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.