Greece earthquakes

M6.1 earthquake 14 km WNW of Gouménissa, Greece

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 14 km WNW of Gouménissa, Greece on Fri, Dec 21, 1990, 7:57 AM GMT+1 (06:57 UTC), 13 km (8 mi) below the surface.

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Map

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The earthquake

Magnitude
6.1 (Mw, moment), strong
Magnitude from
USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time
UTC
1990-12-21 06:57:42 UTC
Depth
13.3 km (8.3 mi), shallow
Epicenter
41.004° N, 22.300° E
Region
Greece
Strongest shaking
VII, very strong shaking
Tsunami flag
No
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

Magnitude estimates

Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.

Mag.ScaleComputed byNotes
6.1Mw, momentUSGS National Earthquake Information CenterPreferred · Reviewed
6.09Mw, momentISC-GEM global catalogFinal · ±0.1
6.1Mwc, centroid momentGlobal CMT projectPreliminary
5.65Me, energyChoy, USGS energy magnitudeReviewed

Deaths and damage

From NOAA NCEI’s Significant Earthquake Database (record 5270), matched to this event by time and place.

Deaths
1
Injuries
60
Damage
Limited (under about $1 million)
Houses damaged
Some (about 51 to 100)

Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA’s full record of this earthquake

What happened

The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.

One person killed, at least 60 injured and damage in the Edhessa-Kilkis area, Greece. Several people injured and some buildings damaged (VII) in the Gevgelija-Strumica area. Felt (VII) at Begorci and Dojran; (VI) at Kavadarci and Strumica; (V) at Bitola, Stip, Berovo, Ohrid and Titov Veles; (IV) at Skopje, Gostivar, Tetovo and Kumanovo. Felt at Larisa, Greece and Korca, Pogradeci and Tirana, Albania. Also felt at Mikhailovgrad and Plovdiv and (IV) at Sofia, Bulgaria. Felt (III) at Bucharest, Romania. Depth from broadband displacement seismograms. FAULT PLANE SOLUTION: P-Waves NP1:Strike=225 Dip=57 Slip=-63 NP2:Strike=2 Dip=42 Slip=-125 Principal Axes: (T) Plg=8 Azm=296 (P) Plg=66 Azm=187 Comment: The focal mechanism is poorly controlled and corresponds to normal faulting with a moderate strike-slip component. The preferred fault plane is not determined. RADIATED ENERGY No. of sta: 13 Focal mech. C Energy 7.5+1.0*10**12 Nm CENTROID, MOMENT TENSOR (HRV) Data Used: GDSN L.P.B.: 12S, 32C Centroid Location: Origin Time 06:57:45.3 0.6 Lat 40.27N 0.06 Lon 22.28E 0.04 Dep 15.0 BDY Half-duration 4.5 Moment Tensor; Scale 10**18 Nm Mrr=-1.50 0.03 Mtt=1.17 0.05 Mff=0.33 0.03 Mrt=-0.11 0.10 Mrf=-0.40 0.10 Mtf=0.94 0.03 Principal Axes: (T) Val=1.81 Plg=5 Azm=146 (N) Val=-0.22 Plg=12 Azm=55 (P) Val=-1.59 Plg=77 Azm=260 Best Double Couple:Mo=1.7*10**18 NP1:Strike=249 Dip=41 Slip=-72 NP2:Strike=45 Dip=52 Slip=-105

From the USGS event page for usp0004jdt. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.

Shaking

The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.

Strongest estimated
VII, very strong shaking
Peak ground acceleration
19.1% of gravity
Peak ground velocity
2.8 cm/s
Map
Automatic
USGS ShakeMap: estimated shaking intensity around the epicenter
Estimated shaking intensity. Map: USGS ShakeMap.

Did you feel it?

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Depth from
OPERATOR_ASSIGNED

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 3.1 and up: 21 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.

After

Earthquakes todayGreece earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0004jdt (also filed as choy19901221065742, gcmtb122190c, gcmt19901221065744, atlas19901221065744, iscgem348057). Read Mon, Oct 5, 2026, 9:17 AM UTC.