1978 Thessaloniki earthquake

Earthquake in Greece
40°36′N 23°18′E / 40.6°N 23.3°E / 40.6; 23.3 [1]TypeNormal[2]Areas affectedGreece
Yugoslavia
BulgariaTotal damage$250 million – $1 billion [2]Max. intensityMMI VIII (Severe) [3]Casualties45–50 killed [2]
100–220 injured [2]

The 1978 Thessaloniki earthquake (Greek: Μεγάλος Σεισμός της Θεσσαλονίκης) occurred on 20 June at 23:03 local time. The shock registered 6.5 on the moment magnitude scale, had a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), and was felt throughout northern Greece, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria. It was the largest event in the area since the 1932 Ierissos earthquake.[4]

It was the first earthquake that hit a big city in Greece in modern times. It is estimated that 49 people died, 37 of which were living in the same block of flats in the city center that collapsed. More than 220 people were injured and many thousands were left homeless. 3170 buildings (4.5%) were found to have severe damage (red label), 13918 buildings (21.0%) had moderate damage (yellow label), and 49071 buildings (74.5%) were found to have no damage (green label), as per the assessment of the Greek authorities.

There have also been some recorded damage to various local archaeological monuments, such as the Arch of Galerius and Rotunda and the Church of the Acheiropoietos.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Utsu, T. R. (2002), "A List of Deadly Earthquakes in the World: 1500–2000", International Handbook of Earthquake & Engineering Seismology, Part A, Volume 81A (First ed.), Academic Press, p. 708, ISBN 978-0124406520
  2. ^ a b c d USGS (2009), PAGER-CAT Earthquake Catalog, Version 2008_06.1, United States Geological Survey
  3. ^ Psycharis, I. (1978), The Salonica (Thessaloniki) earthquake of June 20, 1978 (PDF), EERL 78-03, Earthquake Engineering Research Laboratory, p. 1
  4. ^ 100+1 Years of Greece. Vol. 2. Athens: Maniateas Publishing. 1999. pp. 210–211.

Further reading

  • Soufleris, C.; Jackson, J. A.; King, G. C. P.; Spencer, C. A.; Scholz, C. H. (1982). "The 1978 earthquake sequence near Thessaloniki (northern Greece)". Geophysical Journal International. 68 (2): 429–458. Bibcode:1982GeoJ...68..429S. doi:10.1111/j.1365-246x.1982.tb04908.x. ISSN 0956-540X.
  • Soufleris, C.; Stewart, G. S. (1981). "A source study of the Thessaloniki (northern Greece) 1978 earthquake sequence". Geophysical Journal International. 67 (2): 343–358. Bibcode:1981GeoJ...67..343S. doi:10.1111/j.1365-246x.1981.tb02754.x. ISSN 0956-540X.

External links

  • Significant earthquakes of the world – 1978 – United States Geological Survey
  • The International Seismological Centre has a bibliography and/or authoritative data for this event.
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† indicates earthquake resulting in at least 30 deaths
‡ indicates the deadliest earthquake of the year


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