M6.3 Earthquake 2 km NNW of Uzunba?, Turkey — February 20, 2023
2023-02-20 17:04:29 UTC (2023-02-20) · approx. 7:04 PM UTC+2 local
Felt by 546 people across surrounding communities. Maximum shaking intensity MMI 8.9 (violent).
On February 20, 2023 at 17:04 UTC, a magnitude 6.3 shallow crustal earthquake struck 2 km NNW of Uzunba?, Turkey, at a depth of 16.0 km and coordinates 36.1616°, 36.0251°. The earthquake was reported felt by 546 peopleacross surrounding communities, with a maximum shaking intensity of Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) 8.9 (violent). The USGS PAGER system issued a red alert level for this event, indicating widespread severe impact likely. This earthquake was detected by 146 seismic stations with excellent location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 2497, making it one of the most significant global earthquakes in recent days. The nearest populated place is Uzunbag (population 2,984).
Physical scale: An earthquake of magnitude 6.3 releases seismic energy equivalent to roughly 43 kilotons of TNT. Empirical fault-scaling laws (Wells & Coppersmith, 1994) estimate the subsurface rupture length at approximately 13 km — a useful intuition for the size of the slip patch on the fault.
The epicenter is located in Turkey, a region characterized by the North Anatolian Fault, a 1,500 km transform boundary driven by the westward extrusion of the Anatolian microplate. The nearest mapped fault system is the North Anatolian Fault. View all earthquakes in Turkey.
Learn more: Magnitude scale · Aftershock sequences
Nearest Populated Places
What the Shaking Felt Like
At MMI 8.9 (violent), people in the most strongly affected areas would have experienced: Severe shaking causing considerable damage. Buildings may shift off foundations. Walls crack and may partially collapse. Heavy furniture overturned.
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 546 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 | 163,725 |
| MMI 4 | light | 5,803,045 |
| MMI 5 | moderate | 2,944,241 |
| MMI 6 | strong | 961,532 |
| MMI 7 | very strong | 359,323 |
| MMI 8 | severe | 532,321 |
| MMI 9 | violent | 153,894 |
Earthquake Details
36.0251°E
Technical Information
Common Questions
How strong was the magnitude 6.3 earthquake near Uzunba?, Turkey?
The magnitude 6.3 earthquake that struck 2 km NNW of Uzunba?, Turkey on February 20, 2023 at 17:04 UTC had a depth of 16.0 km. It was felt by 546 people with maximum shaking intensity of MMI 8.9 (violent). For context, this was a strong earthquake capable of causing significant damage.
Where did the earthquake occur?
The earthquake epicenter was located at 36.1616°, 36.0251°, which is 2 km NNW of Uzunba?, Turkey. The nearest populated place is Uzunbag (population 2,984). View all earthquakes in Turkey.
Were there aftershocks?
Aftershock activity is monitored continuously by the USGS. Aftershock sequences from magnitude 6.3 earthquakes can continue for weeks to months and gradually diminish over time.
Has Turkey had earthquakes this big before?
The largest recorded earthquake in Turkey was the M7.8 Kahramanmaraş earthquake of February 6, 2023. Today's magnitude 6.3 event is significantly smaller than that historical record.
Authoritative source: USGS event page (event ID: us6000jqcn). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.
Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2023, February 20, 2023). M6.3 Earthquake 2 km NNW of Uzunba?, Turkey — February 20, 2023. Retrieved October 9, 2024 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us6000jqcn/