Reviewed by USGSGreece43y ago
M3.5 earthquake 43 km SSE of Karyes, Greece
Monday, October 31, 1983, 20:22:30 UTC · 39.894°N, 24.404°E
A magnitude 3.5 earthquake struck 43 km SSE of Karyes, Greece on Monday, October 31, 1983, 20:22:30 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 3.5
- 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
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
13 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
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 M4.4 on October 31, 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 292 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.37 km N of Gönen, TurkeyMarch 18, 1953 · 278 km E of this epicenter
- 7.2Aegean SeaNovember 8, 1905 · 29 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.225 km SE of Malkara, TurkeyAugust 9, 1912 · 248 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.261 km W of Eresós, GreeceDecember 19, 1981 · 101 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.29 km NNW of Karaburun, TurkeyJuly 23, 1949 · 221 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.19 km S of Stara Zagora, BulgariaApril 14, 1928 · 292 km N of this epicenter
- 7.13 km W of Brezovo, BulgariaApril 18, 1928 · 278 km N of this epicenter
- 7.07 km SE of Stara Kresna, BulgariaApril 4, 1904 · 229 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 103 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 28,730 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1883M7.3
Ayvalik, Izmir, Cesme
15 Oct 1883 · 235 km away · intensity X
15,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1881M7.3
Khios; Turkey: Cesme
3 Apr 1881 · 243 km away · intensity XI
7,866 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1912M7.2
Marmara Sea
9 Aug 1912 · 248 km away
2,800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1953M7.3
Yenice, Onon
18 Mar 1953 · 278 km away
1,070 deaths$4 million damage
- 1867M7.0
Mitilini; Turkey: Izmir
7 Mar 1867 · 188 km away
563 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1894M6.7
Locride, Malesina-Martinon (Lokris)
20 Apr 1894 · 177 km away · intensity X
255 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.