Reviewed by USGSGreece31y ago
M3.2 earthquake 19 km NNE of Metsovo, Greece
Saturday, February 24, 1996, 22:44:09 UTC · 39.914°N, 21.305°E
A magnitude 3.2 earthquake struck 19 km NNE of Metsovo, Greece on Saturday, February 24, 1996, 22:44:09 UTC, at a depth of 5.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 3.2
- Minor · md
- Depth
- 5 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
951 kg of TNT
That is about 1/15,825 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 501 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
164 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Aegean Sea and Eurasian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
5 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 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M3.4 on March 24, 1996. 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 522 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.2Aegean SeaNovember 8, 1905 · 284 km E of this epicenter
- 7.07 km SE of Stara Kresna, BulgariaApril 4, 1904 · 262 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.026 km SW of Lixoúri, GreeceJanuary 17, 1983 · 230 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.96 km E of Stari Bar, MontenegroApril 15, 1979 · 300 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.97 km NNE of Ágios Nikólaos, GreeceSeptember 26, 1932 · 212 km E of this epicenter
- 6.86 km W of Stara Kresna, BulgariaApril 4, 1904 · 259 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.815 km ENE of Póros, GreeceAugust 12, 1953 · 195 km S of this epicenter
- 6.86 km SW of Galaxídhion, GreeceMarch 31, 1965 · 196 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 177 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 7,428 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1851M6.6
Vlore (Valona),Berat; Turkey
12 Oct 1851 · 151 km away · intensity XI
2,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1963M6.0
Macedonia: Skopje
26 Jul 1963 · 243 km away · intensity X
1,070 deaths$1.0 billion damage
- 1953M7.2
Lixouri-Argostoli (Kephallenia)
12 Aug 1953 · 185 km away · intensity X
476 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1851
Berat
17 Oct 1851 · 151 km away · intensity X
400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1820M6.9
Zakinthos (Zante)
29 Dec 1820 · 241 km away · intensity X
388 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1767M6.7
Kefalonia
11 Jul 1767 · 197 km away · intensity X
303 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.