Reviewed by USGSGreece23y ago
M3.1 earthquake 8 km WNW of Arkoúdi, Greece
Tuesday, January 20, 2004, 21:04:15 UTC · 37.880°N, 21.020°E
A magnitude 3.1 earthquake struck 8 km WNW of Arkoúdi, Greece on Tuesday, January 20, 2004, 21:04:15 UTC, at a depth of 4.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 3.1
- Minor · md
- Depth
- 4 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
674 kg of TNT
That is about 1/22,353 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 708 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
60 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Aegean Sea and African plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
4 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 6 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M3.5 on February 16, 2004. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 3.532 km SSE of Lithakiá, Greece22y ago · 48 km S of this epicenter
- 3.19 km NNE of Gaïtánion, Greece22y ago · 8 km W of this epicenter
- 3.4Ionian Sea22y ago · 31 km S of this epicenter
- 3.36 km WSW of Kardamás, Greece22y ago · 27 km SE of this epicenter
- 3.33 km SE of Arkoúdi, Greece22y ago · 12 km SE of this epicenter
- 3.216 km S of Lithakiá, Greece22y ago · 38 km SW of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 482 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.9Southern GreeceAugust 11, 1903 · 273 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.34 km WNW of Koróni, GreeceOctober 6, 1947 · 143 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.026 km SW of Lixoúri, GreeceJanuary 17, 1983 · 71 km W of this epicenter
- 6.815 km ENE of Póros, GreeceAugust 12, 1953 · 34 km N of this epicenter
- 6.86 km SW of Galaxídhion, GreeceMarch 31, 1965 · 125 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.7Ionian SeaNovember 15, 1959 · 40 km W of this epicenter
- 6.75 km SW of Domvraína, GreeceFebruary 24, 1981 · 172 km E of this epicenter
- 6.77 km NE of Anávra, GreeceApril 30, 1954 · 180 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 155 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 5,707 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1750
Morea,Cerigo
7 Jun 1750 · 256 km away · intensity X
2,000 deaths
- 1953M7.2
Lixouri-Argostoli (Kephallenia)
12 Aug 1953 · 51 km away · intensity X
476 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1820M6.9
Zakinthos (Zante)
29 Dec 1820 · 25 km away · intensity X
388 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1886M6.8
Triphylie (Peleponese), Philiatra
27 Aug 1886 · 105 km away · intensity X
326 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1767M6.7
Kefalonia
11 Jul 1767 · 65 km away · intensity X
303 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1894M6.7
Locride, Malesina-Martinon (Lokris)
20 Apr 1894 · 207 km away · intensity X
255 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.