Reviewed by USGSTurkey35y ago
M4.7 earthquake 13 km N of Pulumer, Turkey
Saturday, March 21, 1992, 23:15:50 UTC · 39.602°N, 39.870°E
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck 13 km N of Pulumer, Turkey on Saturday, March 21, 1992, 23:15:50 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.9 on March 15, 1992.
- Magnitude
- 4.7
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 15 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
169 tons of TNT
That is about 1/89 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 3 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
10 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
15 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 M4.6 on April 20, 1992. 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 110 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.820 km NNE of Erzincan, TurkeyDecember 26, 1939 · 42 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.018 km W of Doğanşar, TurkeyJanuary 24, 1916 · 228 km W of this epicenter
- 6.918 km ESE of Pasinler, TurkeySeptember 13, 1924 · 175 km E of this epicenter
- 6.813 km NNE of Sincik, TurkeyDecember 4, 1905 · 193 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.814 km NE of Varto, TurkeyAugust 19, 1966 · 150 km E of this epicenter
- 6.827 km E of Narman, TurkeyOctober 30, 1983 · 213 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.814 km ENE of Yedisu, TurkeyAugust 17, 1949 · 70 km E of this epicenter
- 6.77 km ENE of Lice, TurkeySeptember 6, 1975 · 145 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 54 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 67,979 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1939M7.8
Erzincan
26 Dec 1939 · 42 km away · intensity XII
32,700 deaths$20 million damagetsunami
- 1859M6.1
Erzurum
2 Jun 1859 · 127 km away
15,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1784
Erzurum,Erzincan
23 Jul 1784 · 33 km away
5,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1903M6.3
Malazgirt
28 Apr 1903 · 233 km away · intensity X
3,560 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1966M6.8
Varto
19 Aug 1966 · 152 km away · intensity IX
2,394 deaths$20 million damage
- 1975M6.7
Lice
6 Sep 1975 · 145 km away · intensity IX
2,311 deaths$17 million damage
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.