Reviewed by USGSGreece23y ago
M3.5 earthquake 2 km W of Xylókastro, Greece
Friday, January 23, 2004, 23:00:58 UTC · 38.080°N, 22.600°E
A magnitude 3.5 earthquake struck 2 km W of Xylókastro, Greece on Friday, January 23, 2004, 23:00:58 UTC, at a depth of 20.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 3.5
- Minor · ml
- Depth
- 20 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
3 tons of TNT
That is about 1/5,615 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 178 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
23 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Aegean Sea and Eurasian plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
20 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 M3.9 on February 17, 2004. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 3.91 km SE of Xylókastro, Greece22y ago · 4 km E of this epicenter
- 3.311 km W of Galaxídhion, Greece22y ago · 45 km NW of this epicenter
- 3.18 km NNW of Kalávryta, Greece22y ago · 47 km W of this epicenter
- 2.79 km ENE of Témeni, Greece22y ago · 39 km NW of this epicenter
- 2.72 km WSW of Xylókastro, Greece22y ago · 1 km S of this epicenter
- 3.63 km E of Xylókastro, Greece23y ago · 6 km E of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 535 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.9Southern GreeceAugust 11, 1903 · 234 km S of this epicenter
- 7.34 km WNW of Koróni, GreeceOctober 6, 1947 · 154 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.2Aegean SeaNovember 8, 1905 · 284 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.261 km W of Eresós, GreeceDecember 19, 1981 · 262 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.026 km SW of Lixoúri, GreeceJanuary 17, 1983 · 208 km W of this epicenter
- 7.055 km S of Mýrina, GreeceFebruary 19, 1968 · 252 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.97 km NNE of Ágios Nikólaos, GreeceSeptember 26, 1932 · 267 km N of this epicenter
- 6.815 km ENE of Póros, GreeceAugust 12, 1953 · 145 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 153 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 5,574 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1750
Morea,Cerigo
7 Jun 1750 · 212 km away · intensity X
2,000 deaths
- 1953M7.2
Lixouri-Argostoli (Kephallenia)
12 Aug 1953 · 159 km away · intensity X
476 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1820M6.9
Zakinthos (Zante)
29 Dec 1820 · 124 km away · intensity X
388 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1886M6.8
Triphylie (Peleponese), Philiatra
27 Aug 1886 · 135 km away · intensity X
326 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1767M6.7
Kefalonia
11 Jul 1767 · 188 km away · intensity X
303 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1894M6.7
Locride, Malesina-Martinon (Lokris)
20 Apr 1894 · 78 km away · intensity X
255 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.