Reviewed by USGSAlbania22y ago
M3.1 earthquake 7 km SW of Ersekë, Albania
Tuesday, November 23, 2004, 07:27:41 UTC · 40.300°N, 20.610°E
A magnitude 3.1 earthquake struck 7 km SW of Ersekë, Albania on Tuesday, November 23, 2004, 07:27:41 UTC, at a depth of 5.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 3.1
- Minor · md
- Depth
- 5 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
203 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
5 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 5 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M3.7 on December 14, 2004. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 3.35 km W of Ersekë, Albania22y ago · 5 km N of this epicenter
- 3.74 km SSW of Ersekë, Albania22y ago · 4 km E of this epicenter
- 3.19 km NNE of Leskovik, Albania22y ago · 8 km S of this epicenter
- 3.210 km SW of Ersekë, Albania22y ago · 4 km S of this epicenter
- 3.612 km NE of Leskovik, Albania22y ago · 12 km SE of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 457 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.07 km SE of Stara Kresna, BulgariaApril 4, 1904 · 274 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.026 km SW of Lixoúri, GreeceJanuary 17, 1983 · 255 km S of this epicenter
- 6.96 km E of Stari Bar, MontenegroApril 15, 1979 · 232 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.97 km NNE of Ágios Nikólaos, GreeceSeptember 26, 1932 · 265 km E of this epicenter
- 6.86 km W of Stara Kresna, BulgariaApril 4, 1904 · 268 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.815 km ENE of Póros, GreeceAugust 12, 1953 · 237 km S of this epicenter
- 6.86 km SW of Galaxídhion, GreeceMarch 31, 1965 · 263 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.7Ionian SeaNovember 15, 1959 · 273 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 165 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 7,267 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1851M6.6
Vlore (Valona),Berat; Turkey
12 Oct 1851 · 80 km away · intensity XI
2,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1963M6.0
Macedonia: Skopje
26 Jul 1963 · 208 km away · intensity X
1,070 deaths$1.0 billion damage
- 1953M7.2
Lixouri-Argostoli (Kephallenia)
12 Aug 1953 · 223 km away · intensity X
476 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1851
Berat
17 Oct 1851 · 80 km away · intensity X
400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1820M6.9
Zakinthos (Zante)
29 Dec 1820 · 289 km away · intensity X
388 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1767M6.7
Kefalonia
11 Jul 1767 · 226 km away · intensity X
303 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.