Earthquake overview : At 01:48 AM in the morning, many people in the Greek city of Thessalonika have been scared by a short shock. The epicenter of the earthquake was at only 10 km from the city.
“I have Felt it” Reports –>see below + Let us know “how you have felt this earthquake”
To read the full story as it happened, we advise our readers to start at the lower part of the page (earthquake data). Check also our Greece-only earthquake list
Keep this page open or return regularly as we will be back with more details when they become available
– Many people have felt the earthquake. The epicenter was located in the bay, close to the beach.
– Thessaloniki is a city with a population of 354,290.
– Earthquake-Report.com does not expect any serious damage out of this earthquake. Main reasons : weak magnitude, short shaking, focal depth at a reasonable 24 km and epicenter in the bay waters.
– The Greece Institute of Geodynamics in Athens reports a Magnitude of Ml4.1 at a depth of 24 km.
– As could be expected, No reports of damage have reached the authorities.
– The Great Thessaloniki Earthquake was an earthquake that occurred on 20 June 1978, at 22:03 local time, and registered a Mw6.6 . It was felt throughout northern Greece, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria. It was the largest seismic activity in the area since 1932. (source Wikipedia)
Most important Earthquake Data:
Magnitude : Mw4.0
UTC Time : 22:48 UTC
Local time at epicenter : 01:48 on May 13
Depth (Hypocenter) : 24 km
Geo-location(s) :
7 km S Kalokhórion (pop 4,162)
8 km W Kalamariá (pop 91,617)
10 km SW Thessaloníki (pop 354,290)
Most important Earthquake Data:
Magnitude : 6.3 (EMSC)
UTC Time : 23:28:46.0 UTC
Local time at epicenter : local time 04:28
Depth (Hypocenter) : 30 km (EMSC)
Geo-location(s) :
55 km NE Leningradskiy (pop 11,955)
147 km E Dushanbe (pop 543,10
Update 00:19 UTC : EMSC has further decreased the Magnitude from Mb6.0 to Mb5.7, a whole lot of difference. EMSC keeps his focal depth at 4 km which is extremely shallow. Because of the depth parameter, we maintain our opinion and continue to call this earthquake dangerous.
Update 00:12 UTC :
Less than 1000 people are living in a radius of 5 km from the epicenter
4,200 people are living within a radius if 10 km
11,000 people within a radius of 20 km.
Earthquake-Report.com calls a radius of 20 km at high risk for at least minor damage or minor injuries
Update 00:08 UTC : The nearest populated places are: Kalay-Khodzha (16km), Talbar (7km), Yezgan (7km),Tavildara (13km), Chil-Dara (17km). The closest civilian airport is Darwaz (46km).
Update 23:59 UTC : Based on the current data, Earthquake-Report.com calls this earthquake “dangerous”for the villages in the immediate vicinity of the epicenter. Especially the building style is very vulnerable. An increasing danger factor is the fact that the earthquake occurred in the middle of the Tajik night!
Update 23:56 UTC : Following our own research Tavildara, a village with approx. 500 inhabitants is at a distance of 10 km from the epicenter. Ezgand another village is also very close to the epicenter
Shaking map of the area – courtesy USGS – Yellow color indicates the strong shaking area
Update 23:56 UTC : EMSC has changed depth again to 4 km (extremely shallow)
Update 23:50 UTC : EMSC has decreased the Magnitude to Mb6.0 at the new depth of 40 km. Data from USGS and EMSC are too different to be convincing.
Update 23:48 UTC : USGS reports a far lower Magnitude of 5.7 but at a depth of only 10 km.
Update 23:46 UTC : the epicenter seems to be located in the middle of the mountains apparently with very few villages. We will search for more details.
Most important Earthquake Data:
Magnitude : Mb 5.6
UTC Time : Monday, May 07, 2012 at 04:40:29 UTC
Local time at epicenter : Monday, May 07, 2012 at 09:40:29 AM at epicenter
Depth (Hypocenter) : 23.3 km
Geo-location(s) :
14 km (8 miles) SE of Zaqatala (Zakataly), Azerbaijan
101 km (62 miles) NNE of Ganca (Kirovabad), Azerbaijan
114 km (70 miles) ESE of T’elavi, Georgia
291 km (180 miles) WNW of BAKU, Azerbaijan
Update 18:17 UTC : Video from a local TV station showing the damage and interviews with a military responsible inspecting the damaged area and earthquake victims (Language Azerbaijan)
Update 17:34 UTC : 35 minutes ago a new M4.9 moderate aftershock struck the area. This is the 3th strongest today.
Update 17:28 UTC : The authorities have decided to supply tents to the homeless in Zaqatala, probably too late as the night has almost fallen.
Update 17:13 UTC : The damage and destruction are looking to be bigger than previously reported. In Zaqatala, at least 60 houses are seriously damaged. Most of them have collapsed walls. People are too afraid to return to their houses and will probably spend the night in the streets or in the fields. We have heard no news of tents to give shelter to those living in the damaged houses or those wanting to stay away from their house. Most older buildings in the area are made of brick and are not earthquake resistant which increases the chance of damage or even destruction. For those who are not convinced that the damage is considerable, please take a look at the pictures of this Azerbaijan website.
Update 16:53 UTC : 2 people have been rescued by SAR teams from a seriously damaged house in Gulbarax, this after the latest strong aftershock. Some injured have been taken for treatment to hospitals, but none of them was seriously injured. The strong aftershock is responsible for damage to some buildings in Zaqatala (Zagatala).
Zagatala, Azerbaijan, very close to the epicenter – image Panoramio
Update 15:20 UTC : Aftershocks are continuing to strike the area. Most of these aftershocks are only felt in the direct area of the epicenter. The weather outlook in the area can be called mixed. Temperatures are 11 (min) to 222 (max), but rain has been forecast for today and tomorrow.
This morning earthquake damage : 3 villages were the hardest hit with many older houses seriously damaged. The 3 villages are all located in the Zagatala area. From earlier reports we know that they are : Azar, Zayam and Gymyr. Luckily no fatalities though.
Update 15:16 UTC : Azerbaijan media are talking about a M5.3 earthquake with an intensity of MMI 6 to 6.5 (local scale which is comparable with the MMI scale). Both USGS and EMSC are reporting a 5.5 or 5.6 earthquake at a depth of approx. 11 km. Both agencies are locating the epicenter at 10 km from Zagatalaversus 17 km this morning. Reports from our readers living in the greater earthquake area are somewhat conflicting. Some are talking about a short shaking which was considerably weaker than this morning, others are reporting higher “Felt it” values. We reiterate that Zagatala is an important regional city with 18,277 inhabitants. A gas pipeline is crossing the area.
Update 15:02 UTC : 68,000 people are reported to have experienced a very strong shaking. Earthquake-report.com does not think on many injured or fatalities because most people will have been staying on the streets as the area has been struck by tens of aftershocks since this morning. Potential damage is likely to have happened.
145,000 people will have felt a strong shaking. This mornings earthquake was reported as a max. MMI VI (strong shaking) versus MMI VII this afternoon. As older houses were already damaged this morning, some unstable walls may have succumbed under the shaking.
Important Update 14:57 UTC : Another powerful earthquake (aftershock) occurred at 14:15 UTC. We are currently collecting more information. This earthquake looks even more dangerous than the first one as the epicenter is closer to Zagatala (preliminary data from USGS).
Example of the destruction during this earthquake – image courtesy APA
Update 13:25 UTC : From the time of the mainshock until this update, the epicenter area has been shaken by at least 80 aftershocks, a lot of them only recorded by instruments and not felt by the population. The south side of the Caucasus ( including the Zagatala area) is known as a seismically active zone. The last massive earthquake in this area dates from 1936 when a Magnitude 7 earthquake struck the area
Update 10:55 UTC : Azerbaijan news agency APA reports that no problem was detected in the delivery of power, water, gas and communication in Zagatala. Roads in or near Zagatala were not disrupted. The International Bus Terminal told that buses move in direction of Zagatala in accordance with the schedule, no closures of any part of the motor way was recorded so far: ‘No problem is observed in arrival and departure of vehicles’.
Nearly 20 persons arrived at the hospital with different injuries, but none of them were operated or placed at the resuscitation ward. They were given first aid and sent home.
We remind our readers that this report focuses on Zagatala, very close to the epicenter, but not above the epicenter. We will need 4 to 8 hours more for a final update of the direct epicenter area.
More pictures of the damage can be found here.
Update 09:59 UTC : According to the Seismological Service of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, the Magnitude of the earthquake was 5.7 at a depth of 11 km. Following the same agency, the epicenter was located at 17 km from Zagatala (below also called Zaqatala). The gas pipeline linking Baku – Tbilisi and Ceyhan have not been affected by the earthquake
Update 09:15 UTC : From the Azerbaijani side of the border, there are reports of destroyed houses and at least 15 people have been treated for injuries so far, mainly due to panic while fleeing the houses. The hardest hit villages at the Azerbaijani side are Azar, Zayam and Gymyr
Update 09:06 UTC : Earthquake-Report.com also fears for damage and possibly injuries in the smaller mountain villages of the area, especially rockfall and landslides. These villages are only visited many hours after the earthquake. Nobody has reported yet on the conditions right at the epicenter, as this area is populated too! It looks like farming soil with a couple of hundred houses (prevailing the preliminary epicenter location is right)
Update 08:43 UTC : As we have feared, this earthquake tends to be more dangerous than the numbers would make out. Local Georgia and Azerbaijani press reports are reporting not only damage in houses and schools (merely cracks) but also injured people. In the meantime aftershocks are terrorizing the local Caucasus population with so far at least 3 aftershocks above M4.
Yellow area : strong shaking) – greenish area : moderate shaking
Update 07:43 UTC : Earthquake-Report.com fears that the damage as a result of this earthquake may be bigger than initially expected. In Georgia alone (EMSC and USGS are maintaining the epicenter in Azerbaijan) many houses have slight damage. We expect more detailed news within 2 to 4 hours.
We will start an in-depth article as the results of this earthquake will be probably beyond the scope of this page.
Update 06:41 UTC : Russian authorities are reporting a Magnitude of 5.8. The earthquake was also felt in Dagestan . People in the epicenter area have fled on the streets and remain there until further notice out of fear for aftershocks.
Update 05:41 UTC : Following other sources, the epicenter should be at the Georgian side of the border, 1 km from the village of Zemo Kedi and 22 kilometers from the city Dedoplistskaro (Kakheti region). 2 aftershocks are felt so far. The aftershocks are in the 4 to 5 range, enough to frighten the people from the epicenter area even more
Zaqatala epicenter area (Caucasus) – image courtesy Sabit Tagiyev
154,000 people may have experienced a strong shaking, enough to create a damaging earthquake. Similar magnitude earthquakes had few fatalities, but we would not be surprised that damage is inflicted.
Closest communities are Zaqatala (pop. 18,277) and Cinarly (pop. 6,508).
EMSC reports a Magnitude of 5.5 at a depth of 10 km.
296,000 people have experienced a moderate shaking and nearly 3 million people a light shaking.
Cities who have experienced a strong shaking are : Aliabad (9000 people), Zaqatala (18277 people) and Qax (12000 people).
The area where the earthquake happened was a 3-country area. The epicenter is close to Russia andGeorgia. Armenia is at a considerable distance
WAPMERR, an organization specialized in theoretical calculation of possible casualties reports, expects 5 to 40 people to be injured and 0 to 5 people to be killed. WAPMERR’s calculations are based on present and past data.
Most important Earthquake Data:
Magnitude : 5.5Mw (USGS), 5.4Ml (IIEES)
UTC Time : 2012-05-03 14:39:35 UTC
Local time at epicenter : 2012-05-03 19:09:35
Depth (Hypocenter) : 10k (USGS), 14km (IIEES)
Geo-location(s) : 33km (20mi) SE from Abdanan, Iran, 43km (26mi) ENE from Dehloran, Iran
Earthquake overview : A Mw5.5 earthquake has struck the Iran-Iraq border.
Islamic Republic News Agency said on Wednesday night that there has been possible damage caused by this earthquake received.
Keep this page open or return regularly as we will be back with more details when they become available
– IEEES is reporting a Ml5.4 and 14km depth. This will most likely be damaging to local villages.
IIEES earthquake epicenter showing the tectonic regime.
– Amazingly, only 15 damaging earthquakes from CATDAT have been registered since 1900 in this location within 100km radius, and of those this is the highest magnitude.
– Yellow earthquake via PAGER. Max Wyss’ WAPMERR QLARM has given 0-20 fatalities, 10-150 injured.
– This was given an earthquake-report danger rating of RED
Strong earthquake close to La Serena and Coquimbo, Chile
Last update: April 30, 2012 at 1:05 pm by By Ashish Khanal
Strong earthquake close to La Serena and Coquimbo, Chile
A strong earthquake shook houses close to the Chile cities of La Serena and Coquimbo
Coquimbo has a population of 161,137
Earthquake-Report.com calls this earthquake moderately dangerous for minor damage and minor injuries Onemi Chile calls this earthquake : Sismo de mediana intensidad en las regiones de Atacama y Coquimbo
Intensity values : Región: Atacama
Alto del Carmen: IV, Copiapó: IV, Tierra Amarilla: IV, Vallenar: IV Región: Coquimbo
Canela: II, Coquimbo: V, La Serena: V, Ovalle: V (V=moderate shaking)
See also Experience reports below
Onemi indicates that all infrastructure and telecommunications kept working
An Experience report we received right after the earthquake struck mentions a duration of 1 minute 30 seconds for the the shaking, which is very long. A prolonged shaking increases the chance on damage considerably. Update 08:10 UTC : Universidad de Chile reports a Ml magnitude of 6 luckily at a depth of 45 km. Universidad de Chile places the epicenter approx. 35 km out of the coast.
Contrary to many other earthquakes in Chile, this earthquake was located in the north of the country at a big distance from Santiago de Chile. Most earthquakes who are occurring in this area have a deeper hypocenter. Update 08:18 UTC : USGS is mentioning a Mw5.5 at a depth of 32.3 km. USGS expects 116,000 people to have felt a moderate MMI V shaking. The earthquake happened at 03:39 local time! Update 08:26 UTC : An inhabitant of nearby La Serena informed ER that no damage or disruption of basic services was noticed. “No se reportan daños ni cortes de servicios básicos” Update 08:50 UTC : We expect a final report to arrive within 4 to 6 hours (soon after daylight). Local newspapers are mentioning basic Onemi data, nothing else. Experience reports from our Chile readers make this report the “best available in the world” at the time of writing . Update 12:57 UTC : Electricity was cut off for a while in Sindempart Coquimbo. People reacted to the shaking to assemble on the secure locations in the coastal towns. This can be called auto-evacuation which produces after every major shaking. People are going to higher grounds as they do not know the epicenter and initial strength of the shaking, especially after the February 27 deadly tsunami in Chile. Better not take any risk than trusting SHOA or ONEMI they think (Shoa is the tsunami reporting agency). The same attitude exists in other frequently shaken coastal towns around the world. At earthquake-Report.com we think that this is a wise decision, however we also know that the government reports are very accurate !
Last update: April 28, 2012 at 4:07 pm by By Ashish Khanal
Shaking intensities, max. light shaking (MMI IV)
Earthquake in Southern California
Epicenter close to Devore and 13 km (8 miles) W (270°) from Crestline, CA 16 km (10 miles) N (10°) from Fontana, CA We expect a max. light shaking. Following the first incoming I Have Felt It reports, the quake was experienced as a strong jolt. 6,000 people will have felt a light shaking and 16 million people a weak shaking !
Earthquake-Report.com does not expect this earthquake to be damaging. Update 15:56 UTC : Most people close to the epicenter are reporting a strong jolt for a couple seconds only. Strong short jolts are considered as less dangerous versus sustained shaking. This is the second earthquake this week in California sending people in big numbers to our site. The first one was on Monday with epicenter near Laguna Niguel.
Earthquake overview : A very shallow earthquake 10 km out of the Irian Jaya coast, Indonesia has scared people who are not panicking for a little shaking, as earthquakes are almost common as bad weather in this area of the world.
Green radius = strong shaking; yellow radius = very strong shaking, severe shaking too small to fit on this map
Most important Earthquake Data:
Magnitude : Mw6.6
UTC Time : Saturday, April 21, 2012 at 01:16:52 UTC
Local time at epicenter : Saturday, April 21, 2012 at 10:16:52 AM at epicenter
Depth (Hypocenter) : 16 km (9.9 miles)
Geo-location(s) :
10 km SE from Ransiki, Papua, Indonesia
83 km (51 miles) SSE of Manokwari, Papua, Indonesia
– Update 11:23 UTC: It has been reported that the quake caused a bridge connecting the Ransiki-Manokwari to have minor damage. A total of 10 houses damaged moderately, and dozens of others were slightly damaged.
– Update 11:03 UTC
* As usual the local media are always focusing more on the bigger cities in the area, in this case Manokwari. In Manokwari people are saying that the strong shaking only lasted 3 seconds. People rushed out of the buildings. There was no news of any damage or injuries at Manokwari.
– The biggest city in the area is Manokwari who has experienced a strong MMI VI shaking. Manokwari has a population of 53,000 people.
– The fault who generated the earthquake is called “Ransiki fault”. Both sides of the fault are moving approx. 8.5 mm/year.
– Local BMKG is reporting a Magnitude of 6.8 at a depth of 10 km (bot stronger than reported by USGS)
– Modified Mercalli Shaking Intensities : 4,000 people : Severe VIII shaking, 8,000 people : Very strong VII shaking and 169,000 people VI strong shaking.
– GDACS has calculated that the following locations might get waves of max. 0.2 meter (not a real tsunami but only strong current and waves) : Rapaowi, Ransiki, Jali Ali, Sisember and Robookisbia
– 160,000 people are living within a radius of 100 km. The repartition of the population is as follows :
75 km 29000 people; 50 km 16000 people; 20 km 5200 people and 10 km less than 1000 people
Earthquake-report.com calls an area of 25 km at risk (about 7000 people – number based on GDACS data) for serious damage and injuries.
Ransiki town / village – only approx. 10 km from the epicenter – image courtesy Toto Purwanto
– Oransbari and Ransiki are 2 villages located in a radius of 25 km around the epicenter. Especially this area will get the greatest shaking impact. Based on satellite images, Ransiki seems to have a STOL airport (short take off and landing)
– The earthquake is somewhat weakened because of an epicenter just out in the sea
– Due to the Magnitude and the close distance to the beach, NOAA has published the following Tsunami statement for the Pacific region : NO DESTRUCTIVE WIDESPREAD TSUNAMI THREAT EXISTS BASED ON HISTORICAL EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI DATA. HOWEVER EARTHQUAKES OF THIS SIZE SOMETIMES GENERATE LOCAL TSUNAMIS THAT CAN BE DESTRUCTIVE ALONG COASTS LOCATED WITHIN A HUNDRED KILOMETERS OF THE EARTHQUAKE EPICENTER. AUTHORITIES IN THE REGION OF THE EPICENTER SHOULD BE AWARE OF THIS POSSIBILITY AND TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION
Very strong to massive (deep) earthquake in Papua New Guinea
Last update: April 17, 2012 at 9:38 am by By Ashish Khanal
Very strong to massive (deep) earthquake in Papua New Guinea The earthquake struck at a depth of 202 km is therefore probably harmless.
130 km (81 miles) N (10°) from Lae, New Guinea, PNG
156 km (97 miles) ESE (104°) from Madang, New Guinea, PNG
This earthquake will be felt by millions of people in a very wide area because of the depth of the hypocenter Update 07:33 UTC : Geofon reports a Magnitude of 6.6 at a depth of 199 km. EMSC a Magnitude of 7.1 at a depth of 190 km.
All data captured so far are confirming the probably harmless character of this earthquake Update 07:38 UTC : The epicenter of this earthquake is on the coast of Long Island, an island to the north of Eastern PNG. The epicenter is however of less importance in deep earthquakes as the seismic waves are radiating to the surface from deep within the hot solid earth. Update 07:41 UTC : There absolutely NO risk for a tsunami for the same reason as described above. Update 07:42 UTC : Due the energy in this quake USGS expects that 108,000 people will have experienced a moderate MMI V shaking, 2.6 million people a light shaking.
Most important Earthquake Data:
Magnitude :
UTC Time : Tuesday, April 17, 2012 at 02:01:27 UTC
Local time at epicenter : Tuesday, April 17, 2012 at 05:01:27 AM at epicenter
Depth (Hypocenter) : 10 km
Geo-location(s) :
33 km (20 miles) NNW of NAIROBI, Kenya 81 km (50 miles) NW of Machakos, Kenya 109 km (67 miles) SE of Nakuru, Kenya
Seismic hazard map for the greater area of this earthquake – The darker the color, the more chance that an earthquake would strike
– The East African Rift is an active continental rift zone in eastern Africa that appears to be a developing divergent tectonic plate boundary (spreading plates) . In the past it was considered to be part of a larger Great Rift Valley that extended north to Turkey. The rift is a narrow zone in which the African Plate is in the process of splitting into two new tectonic plates called the Somali Plate and the Nubian Plate, which are subplates or protoplates. See picture of the plates at the bottom of this article.
– The epicenter is located below Ngenya and close to the Thika Dam. The Thika dam is approx. 15 km from the shallow epicenter, but it should be no problem at all to withstand a moderate quake like the one from today.
– The intensity of the shaking is not strong enough to inflict serious damage or injuries, but can cause some cracks in walls as the houses in Kenya are mostly made of brick or adobe and are this very vulnerable for damage when serious shaking is taking place.
– The intensity reported from Nairobi is III MMI = a weak shaking
– The earthquake can be called unusual so close to for Nairobi, but not unusual for Kenya as Kenya is part of the tectonics very active rift valley with spreading plates. These spreading plates are “hanging” on regular intervals and are even the reason for the many volcanoes the country has within its borders.
Very strong earthquake near Valparaiso, Chile – Very interesting shaking video
Most important Earthquake Data:
Magnitude : 6.5
UTC Time : Tuesday, April 17, 2012 at 03:50:14 UTC
Local time at epicenter : Monday, April 16, 2012 at 11:50:14 PM at epicenter
Depth (Hypocenter) : 25.9 km
Geo-location(s) :
42 km (26 miles) NNE of Valparaiso, Valparaiso, Chile 81 km (50 miles) W of Los Andes, Valparaiso, Chile
Intensity map courtesy USGS
– Historically, there have been at least 50 damaging earthquakes within a 100km radius of the epicenter
– Strongest intensities have been experienced in Titil and Rancagua following ONEMI Chile (MMI VII = very strong shaking)
– ONEMI Chile is calling the earthquake one of Mayor Intensidad (great intensity).
– 532,000 people will have experienced a strong shaking and nearly a million people a moderate shaking. 8 million people a light shaking
– The epicenter may be positioned in the sea or just below land
– The earthquake struck on the coastal strip 42 km to the north of Valparaiso and 112 km from the Capital Santiago
– The Video below is a very important video which shows the studio of CNN Chile with a footer already in the screen of the earthquake as well as the text that SHOA (agency for tsunami prediction) reports that NO tsunami conditions are present. The text messages must have appeared after the automatic systems from the Chile authorities have received the P-Wave signal at instruments close to the epicenter. Santiago de Chile was only 112 km from the epicenter and while the journalist is commenting the just occurred quake, the studio is starting to shake. Following ONEMI Chile, the shaking we are seeing on this video is labeled approx. MMI VI (strong shaking). Once more CHILE proves that they are standing at the top of earthquake preparedness. If reports are distributed this fast to the media, all evacuation and preparedness measures like tsunami evacuation is very efficient too. Japan has a similar system.Earthquake-Report.com congratulates the Chile authorities with the way they have learned from the February 27, 2010 earthquake and historic earthquakes.
– Earthquake-Report.com reader message from Valparaiso : No previous sound, It started reaaally strong, right from the beginning, some things fell, the sad thing is telephones lines went down… again.
– Update 08:44 UTC : Preventive evacuation has been lifted 3 hours 48 minutes after the mainshock!
– In the video below captured in the CNN studios from Santiago de Chile, we have timed that the strongest shaking went on for about 8 seconds and that the shaking ended after approx. 35 seconds.
– Power is now been restored to 99% of the grid and only the town of Maitencillo in the Vth district has still some areas without power
– Update 07:57 UTC : 8 aftershocks since the mainshock
– A seismologist from the Universidad de Chile Santiago has declared that today’s earthquake is NOT related with the February 27, 2010 mega-quake.
Green arrow : epicenter of the earthquake
Shaking map of the area – courtesy USGS – Yellow color indicates the strong shaking area
