Reviewed by USGS22y ago
M2.9 earthquake in Aegean Sea
Tuesday, September 14, 2004, 23:20:07 UTC · 38.350°N, 24.190°E
A magnitude 2.9 earthquake struck in Aegean Sea on Tuesday, September 14, 2004, 23:20:07 UTC, at a depth of 22.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 2.9
- Minor · ml
- Depth
- 22 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
338 kg of TNT
That is about 1/44,601 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 1,413 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
107 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
22 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 7 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.6 on September 26, 2004. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 2.68 km SSE of Alivéri, Greece22y ago · 11 km W of this epicenter
- 2.510 km NNE of Káto Soúlion, Greece22y ago · 15 km SW of this epicenter
- 2.512 km NE of Káto Soúlion, Greece22y ago · 13 km SW of this epicenter
- 4.69 km NE of Grammatikó, Greece22y ago · 16 km SW of this epicenter
- 2.525 km E of Alivéri, Greece22y ago · 14 km NE of this epicenter
- 2.916 km ESE of Alivéri, Greece22y ago · 1 km S of this epicenter
- 2.83 km ENE of Alivéri, Greece22y ago · 14 km NW of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 408 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.9Southern GreeceAugust 11, 1903 · 282 km S of this epicenter
- 7.719 km SSE of Amorgós, GreeceJuly 9, 1956 · 244 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.34 km WNW of Koróni, GreeceOctober 6, 1947 · 264 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.2Aegean SeaNovember 8, 1905 · 197 km N of this epicenter
- 7.261 km W of Eresós, GreeceDecember 19, 1981 · 134 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.29 km NNW of Karaburun, TurkeyJuly 23, 1949 · 203 km E of this epicenter
- 7.05 km NNW of Kéfalos, GreeceJune 26, 1926 · 297 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.055 km S of Mýrina, GreeceFebruary 19, 1968 · 133 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 146 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 28,528 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1883M7.3
Ayvalik, Izmir, Cesme
15 Oct 1883 · 175 km away · intensity X
15,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1881M7.3
Khios; Turkey: Cesme
3 Apr 1881 · 180 km away · intensity XI
7,866 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1750
Morea,Cerigo
7 Jun 1750 · 261 km away · intensity X
2,000 deaths
- 1867M7.0
Mitilini; Turkey: Izmir
7 Mar 1867 · 214 km away
563 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1953M7.2
Lixouri-Argostoli (Kephallenia)
12 Aug 1953 · 296 km away · intensity X
476 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1820M6.9
Zakinthos (Zante)
29 Dec 1820 · 266 km away · intensity X
388 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.