M5.6 Earthquake 0 km ESE of Lele?ti, Romania — February 14, 2023
2023-02-14 13:16:50 UTC (2023-02-14) · approx. 3:16 PM UTC+2 local
Felt by 1,039 people across a wide area. Maximum shaking intensity MMI 7.6 (severe).
On February 14, 2023 at 13:16 UTC, a magnitude 5.6 shallow crustal earthquake struck 0 km ESE of Lele?ti, Romania, at a depth of 10.0 km and coordinates 45.0998°, 23.2013°. The earthquake was reported felt by 1,039 peopleacross a wide area, with a maximum shaking intensity of Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) 7.6 (severe). The USGS PAGER system issued a yellow alert level for this event, indicating local impact possible. This earthquake was detected by 197 seismic stations with excellent location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 1410, making it one of the most significant global earthquakes in recent days. The nearest populated place is Lelesti (population 1,951).
Physical scale: An earthquake of magnitude 5.6 releases seismic energy equivalent to roughly 4 kilotons of TNT. Empirical fault-scaling laws (Wells & Coppersmith, 1994) estimate the subsurface rupture length at approximately 4.4 km — a useful intuition for the size of the slip patch on the fault.
Nearest Populated Places
What the Shaking Felt Like
At MMI 7.6 (severe), people in the most strongly affected areas would have experienced: Very strong shaking. Difficult to stand. Damage to weak structures; slight damage to well-built structures. Furniture broken. Fallen plaster and loose bricks.
ShakeMap — predicted shaking intensity
Modeled ground-motion intensity contoured on the Modified Mercalli scale (MMI). Computed by the USGS from the moment-tensor solution and regional ground-motion prediction equations.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey ShakeMap. View interactive ShakeMap on USGS
Did You Feel It? — community-reported shaking
Aggregated felt-report intensity from 1,039 citizen responses to the USGS Did You Feel It? system. Each colored zone represents the average MMI from reports in that area.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey Did You Feel It?. View on USGS · submit your own report
Population exposure (USGS PAGER)
Estimated population that experienced each level of shaking. Based on the USGS PAGER rapid impact assessment, which combines ShakeMap output with global population grids.
| Shaking intensity (MMI) | Description | Population exposed |
|---|---|---|
| MMI 3 | weak | 8,050,560 |
| MMI 4 | light | 2,659,403 |
| MMI 5 | moderate | 130,068 |
| MMI 6 | strong | 35,309 |
| MMI 7 | very strong | 82,545 |
| MMI 8 | severe | 2,865 |
Earthquake Details
23.2013°E
Technical Information
Common Questions
How strong was the magnitude 5.6 earthquake near Lele?ti, Romania?
The magnitude 5.6 earthquake that struck 0 km ESE of Lele?ti, Romania on February 14, 2023 at 13:16 UTC had a depth of 10.0 km. It was felt by 1,039 people with maximum shaking intensity of MMI 7.6 (severe). For context, this was a moderate earthquake that could be widely felt.
Where did the earthquake occur?
The earthquake epicenter was located at 45.0998°, 23.2013°, which is 0 km ESE of Lele?ti, Romania. The nearest populated place is Lelesti (population 1,951).
Were there aftershocks?
Aftershock activity is monitored continuously by the USGS. Aftershock sequences from magnitude 5.6 earthquakes can continue for days to weeks and gradually diminish over time.
Authoritative source: USGS event page (event ID: us6000jnqz). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.
Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2023, February 14, 2023). M5.6 Earthquake 0 km ESE of Lele?ti, Romania — February 14, 2023. Retrieved June 28, 2026 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us6000jnqz/