Moderate mag. 4.5 earthquake - Aegean Sea, 58 km west of Karpathos Island, Dodecanese, South Aegean, Greece, on Friday, 22 Jan 2021 8:57 am (GMT +2) -
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Moderate magnitude 4.5 earthquake at 27 km depth
22 Jan 07:01 UTC: First to report: GFZ after 4 minutes.
22 Jan 07:02: Now using data updates from NOA
22 Jan 07:48: Magnitude recalculated from 4.6 to 4.5. Hypocenter depth recalculated from 27.5 to 27.2 km (from 17.1 to 16.9 mi).
22 Jan 07:02: Now using data updates from NOA
22 Jan 07:48: Magnitude recalculated from 4.6 to 4.5. Hypocenter depth recalculated from 27.5 to 27.2 km (from 17.1 to 16.9 mi).
Update Fri, 22 Jan 2021, 07:06
Light 4.3 quake hits near Sitia, Lasithi, Crete, Greece4.3 quake 22 Jan 8:57 am (GMT +2)
A shallow magnitude 4.3 earthquake was reported in the morning near Sitia, Lasithi, Crete, Greece.
According to the National Observatory of Athens (NOA), the quake hit on Friday 22 January 2021 at 8:57 am local time at a shallow depth of 10 km. Shallow earthquakes are felt more strongly than deeper ones as they are closer to the surface. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
Our monitoring service identified a second report from the Kandilli Oservatory and Earthquake Research Institute in Istanbul (KOERI-RETMC) which listed the quake at magnitude 4.4. Other agencies reporting the same quake include German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) at magnitude 4.5, and European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) at magnitude 4.6.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibration in the area of the epicenter.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Agia Marina (pop. 440) located 43 km from the epicenter.
Other towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Palekastro (pop. 1,100) located 51 km from the epicenter, Sitia (pop. 8,700) 57 km away, Karpathos (pop. 2,200) 65 km away, Elounda (pop. 2,200) 80 km away, Aghios Nicolaos (pop. 11,400) 85 km away, and Ierapetra (pop. 12,400) 96 km away.
VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you’re in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.
According to the National Observatory of Athens (NOA), the quake hit on Friday 22 January 2021 at 8:57 am local time at a shallow depth of 10 km. Shallow earthquakes are felt more strongly than deeper ones as they are closer to the surface. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
Our monitoring service identified a second report from the Kandilli Oservatory and Earthquake Research Institute in Istanbul (KOERI-RETMC) which listed the quake at magnitude 4.4. Other agencies reporting the same quake include German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) at magnitude 4.5, and European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) at magnitude 4.6.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibration in the area of the epicenter.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Agia Marina (pop. 440) located 43 km from the epicenter.
Other towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Palekastro (pop. 1,100) located 51 km from the epicenter, Sitia (pop. 8,700) 57 km away, Karpathos (pop. 2,200) 65 km away, Elounda (pop. 2,200) 80 km away, Aghios Nicolaos (pop. 11,400) 85 km away, and Ierapetra (pop. 12,400) 96 km away.
VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you’re in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.
Earthquake data:
Date & time: 22 Jan 2021 06:57:27 UTC -
Local time at epicenter: Friday, 22 Jan 2021 8:57 am (GMT +2)
Magnitude: 4.5
Depth: 27.2 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 35.6387°N / 26.4871°E

Nearest volcano: Nisyros (124 km / 77 mi)
Nearby towns and cities:
46 km (29 mi) WNW of Agia Marina (Dodecanese) (pop: 444) --> See nearby quakes!
53 km (33 mi) NNE of Palekastro (pop: 1,090) --> See nearby quakes!
59 km (37 mi) NE of Sitia (pop: 8,710) --> See nearby quakes!
67 km (42 mi) WNW of Karpathos (pop: 2,240) --> See nearby quakes!
86 km (53 mi) NE of Aghios Nicolaos (Agios Nikolaos) (pop: 11,400) --> See nearby quakes!
97 km (60 mi) NE of Ierapetra (pop: 12,400) --> See nearby quakes!
125 km (78 mi) ENE of Néa Alikarnassos (Nea Alikarnassos) (pop: 12,900) --> See nearby quakes!
127 km (79 mi) ENE of Heraklion (pop: 137,200) --> See nearby quakes!
157 km (97 mi) SSW of Kos (pop: 19,200) --> See nearby quakes!
358 km (223 mi) SE of Athens (pop: 664,000) --> See nearby quakes!
58 km (36 mi) W of Karpathos Island (pop: 6,570) --> See nearby quakes!
48 km (30 mi) NW of Kasos Island (pop: 1,010) --> See nearby quakes!
126 km (78 mi) ENE of Kreta Island (pop: 623,100) --> See nearby quakes!
Weather at epicenter at time of quake:
Few Clouds
14°C (57 F), humidity: 72%, wind: 4 m/s (8 kts) from S
Primary data source: NOA (National Observatory of Athens)Few Clouds

Estimated released energy: 3.5 x 1011 joules (98.6 megawatt hours, equivalent to 84.8 tons of TNT) More info
Data for the same earthquake reported by different agencies
Info: The more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision.
Magnitude | Depth | Location | Source |
M 4.5 | 27 km | 49 Km NW From Kassos, Greece | NOA |
M 4.6 | 28 km | CRETE, GREECE | EMSC |
M 4.6 | 16 km | Crete, Greece | GFZ |
M 4.4 | 14 km | MEDITERRANEAN SEA, Greece | KOERI-RETMC |
M 4.4 | 37 km | 43 Km WNW of Fry, Greece | USGS |
M 4.6 | 10 km | Mediterranean Sea, 487 Km N of Marsa Matruh, Greece | ENSN |
M 4.6 | 28 km | Ayia Marina / Kreta, Greece | ZAMG |
User reports for this quake (3)
User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.
304.7 km N of epicenter [Map] / not felt (reported through our app)
97.5 km SW of epicenter [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) (reported through our app)
Heraklion Crete / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 5-10 s
Earlier earthquakes in the same area since 1900
- Date / time UTC| Mag |Depth|Age|Distance| Details
- 09 Jul 1956 03:11| 7.7 |20km / 12.4mi|65 years ago|124km / 77mi| Aegean Sea, 19 km S of Amorgos, Nomos Kykladon, South Aegean, Greece
- 25 Apr 1957 02:25| 7.3 |35km / 22mi|64 years ago|216km / 135mi| Eastern Mediterranean, 46 km SW of Fethiye, Muğla, Turkey
- 09 Feb 1948 12:58| 7.3 |15km / 9.3mi|73 years ago|60km / 37mi| 15 km N of Karpathos, Dodecanese, South Aegean, Greece
- 24 Apr 1957 19:10| 7.1 |35km / 22mi|64 years ago|231km / 144mi| Eastern Mediterranean, 27 km SE of Sarigerme, Ortaca, Muğla, Turkey
- 26 Jun 1926 19:46| 6.9 |15km / 9.3mi|95 years ago|119km / 74mi| Aegean Sea, 16 km SW of Kéfalos, Dodecanese, South Aegean, Greece
- 13 Aug 1922 00:09| 6.7 |15km / 9.3mi|99 years ago|102km / 63mi| Eastern Mediterranean, 36 km SE of Karpathos, Dodecanese, South Aegean, Greece
- 15 Jul 2008 03:26| 6.4 |52km / 32mi|13 years ago|125km / 78mi| Eastern Mediterranean, 19 km SE of Kattavia, Dodecanese, South Aegean, Greece
- 23 Apr 1933 05:57| 6.3 |15km / 9.3mi|88 years ago|143km / 89mi| Aegean Sea, 16 km S of Kos, Dodecanese, South Aegean, Greece
- 11 Aug 1922 08:19| 6.3 |20km / 12.4mi|99 years ago|96km / 59mi| Eastern Mediterranean, 58 km S of Karpathos, Dodecanese, South Aegean, Greece
- 30 Jan 2020 11:21| 6.2 |10km / 6.2mi|1 year 5 weeks ago|122km / 76mi| Eastern Mediterranean, 58 km SE of Karpathos, Dodecanese, South Aegean, Greece
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