Reviewed by USGSGreece43y ago
M3.9 earthquake 7 km SSW of Kamariótissa, Greece
Friday, December 9, 1983, 02:55:22 UTC · 40.412°N, 25.456°E
A magnitude 3.9 earthquake struck 7 km SSW of Kamariótissa, Greece on Friday, December 9, 1983, 02:55:22 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 3.9
- 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
11 tons of TNT
That is about 1/1,410 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 45 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
25 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Anatolian 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 4 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M3.9 on December 25, 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 230 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 · 188 km E of this epicenter
- 7.2Aegean SeaNovember 8, 1905 · 79 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.225 km SE of Malkara, TurkeyAugust 9, 1912 · 145 km E of this epicenter
- 7.261 km W of Eresós, GreeceDecember 19, 1981 · 131 km S of this epicenter
- 7.29 km NNW of Karaburun, TurkeyJuly 23, 1949 · 208 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.19 km S of Stara Zagora, BulgariaApril 14, 1928 · 216 km N of this epicenter
- 7.13 km W of Brezovo, BulgariaApril 18, 1928 · 218 km N of this epicenter
- 7.07 km SE of Stara Kresna, BulgariaApril 4, 1904 · 238 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 77 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 29,634 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1883M7.3
Ayvalik, Izmir, Cesme
15 Oct 1883 · 243 km away · intensity X
15,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1881M7.3
Khios; Turkey: Cesme
3 Apr 1881 · 250 km away · intensity XI
7,866 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1912M7.2
Marmara Sea
9 Aug 1912 · 145 km away
2,800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1894M6.7
Turkey
10 Jul 1894 · 275 km away · intensity X
1,349 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1953M7.3
Yenice, Onon
18 Mar 1953 · 188 km away
1,070 deaths$4 million damage
- 1867M7.0
Mitilini; Turkey: Izmir
7 Mar 1867 · 157 km away
563 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.