Reviewed by USGSGreece22y ago
M4.2 earthquake 6 km SW of Kanaláki, Greece
Sunday, September 12, 2004, 16:41:19 UTC · 39.185°N, 20.555°E
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 6 km SW of Kanaláki, Greece on Sunday, September 12, 2004, 16:41:19 UTC, at a depth of 2.8 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.2
- Light · ml
- Depth
- 3 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
30 tons of TNT
That is about 1/500 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 16 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
80 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
3 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 M3.2 on October 1, 2004. 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 535 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.34 km WNW of Koróni, GreeceOctober 6, 1947 · 290 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.026 km SW of Lixoúri, GreeceJanuary 17, 1983 · 132 km S of this epicenter
- 6.97 km NNE of Ágios Nikólaos, GreeceSeptember 26, 1932 · 300 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.815 km ENE of Póros, GreeceAugust 12, 1953 · 116 km S of this epicenter
- 6.86 km SW of Galaxídhion, GreeceMarch 31, 1965 · 180 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.7Ionian SeaNovember 15, 1959 · 149 km S of this epicenter
- 6.76 km NW of Lukovo, North MacedoniaNovember 30, 1967 · 245 km N of this epicenter
- 6.75 km SW of Domvraína, GreeceFebruary 24, 1981 · 233 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 176 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 6,444 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1851M6.6
Vlore (Valona),Berat; Turkey
12 Oct 1851 · 163 km away · intensity XI
2,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1953M7.2
Lixouri-Argostoli (Kephallenia)
12 Aug 1953 · 101 km away · intensity X
476 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1851
Berat
17 Oct 1851 · 163 km away · intensity X
400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1820M6.9
Zakinthos (Zante)
29 Dec 1820 · 171 km away · intensity X
388 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1886M6.8
Triphylie (Peleponese), Philiatra
27 Aug 1886 · 253 km away · intensity X
326 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1767M6.7
Kefalonia
11 Jul 1767 · 102 km away · intensity X
303 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.