Reviewed by USGSGreece30y ago
M3.4 earthquake 12 km SSW of Tsotíli, Greece
Sunday, March 24, 1996, 23:11:22 UTC · 40.159°N, 21.261°E
A magnitude 3.4 earthquake struck 12 km SSW of Tsotíli, Greece on Sunday, March 24, 1996, 23:11:22 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 3.4
- Minor · mb
- Depth
- 33 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
2 tons of TNT
That is about 1/7,931 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 251 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
191 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
33 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 April 15, 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 492 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.2Aegean SeaNovember 8, 1905 · 286 km E of this epicenter
- 7.07 km SE of Stara Kresna, BulgariaApril 4, 1904 · 244 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.026 km SW of Lixoúri, GreeceJanuary 17, 1983 · 253 km S of this epicenter
- 6.96 km E of Stari Bar, MontenegroApril 15, 1979 · 276 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.97 km NNE of Ágios Nikólaos, GreeceSeptember 26, 1932 · 211 km E of this epicenter
- 6.86 km W of Stara Kresna, BulgariaApril 4, 1904 · 240 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.815 km ENE of Póros, GreeceAugust 12, 1953 · 222 km S of this epicenter
- 6.86 km SW of Galaxídhion, GreeceMarch 31, 1965 · 222 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 174 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 7,427 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1851M6.6
Vlore (Valona),Berat; Turkey
12 Oct 1851 · 138 km away · intensity XI
2,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1963M6.0
Macedonia: Skopje
26 Jul 1963 · 216 km away · intensity X
1,070 deaths$1.0 billion damage
- 1953M7.2
Lixouri-Argostoli (Kephallenia)
12 Aug 1953 · 210 km away · intensity X
476 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1851
Berat
17 Oct 1851 · 138 km away · intensity X
400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1820M6.9
Zakinthos (Zante)
29 Dec 1820 · 268 km away · intensity X
388 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1767M6.7
Kefalonia
11 Jul 1767 · 221 km away · intensity X
303 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.