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.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
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. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.1 | Mw, moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 6.09 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 6.1 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
| 5.65 | Me, energy | Choy, USGS energy magnitude | Reviewed |
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.
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

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
- 3.310 km NW of Gouménissa, Greece · 13072 days ago · 10 km deep · 6 km away
- 3.113 km WNW of Gouménissa, Greece · 13072 days ago · 10 km deep · 3 km away
- 3.66 km WNW of Gouménissa, Greece · 13072 days ago · 14 km deep · 8 km away
- 3.18 km W of Gouménissa, Greece · 13072 days ago · 10 km deep · 7 km away
- 3.211 km WSW of Gevgelija, North Macedonia · 13072 days ago · 10 km deep · 12 km away
- 3.17 km WNW of Gouménissa, Greece · 13072 days ago · 10 km deep · 6 km away
- 3.25 km SW of Gevgelija, North Macedonia · 13072 days ago · 10 km deep · 17 km away
- 4.613 km NW of Gouménissa, Greece · 13072 days ago · 10 km deep · 2 km away
- 3.511 km NNW of Gouménissa, Greece · 13072 days ago · 10 km deep · 7 km away
- 3.58 km W of Gouménissa, Greece · 13072 days ago · 10 km deep · 7 km away
- 3.310 km SW of Gevgelija, North Macedonia · 13071 days ago · 10 km deep · 13 km away
- 3.69 km SW of Gevgelija, North Macedonia · 13070 days ago · 10 km deep · 14 km away
- 3.15 km NW of Axioúpoli, Greece · 13070 days ago · 10 km deep · 17 km away
- 3.75 km SW of Gevgelija, North Macedonia · 13069 days ago · 9 km deep · 18 km away
- 3.212 km SW of Gevgelija, North Macedonia · 13068 days ago · 10 km deep · 10 km away
- 3.311 km NW of Gouménissa, Greece · 13062 days ago · 11 km deep · 3 km away
- 3.16 km WSW of Stathmós Mourión, Greece · 13062 days ago · 10 km deep · 47 km away
- 3.18 km WSW of Gevgelija, North Macedonia · 13059 days ago · 10 km deep · 15 km away
- 3.36 km NW of Néo Petrítsi, Greece · 13046 days ago · 5 km deep · 87 km away
- 3.54 km SW of Gevgelija, North Macedonia · 13034 days ago · 10 km deep · 18 km away
- 3.11 km WSW of Léchovo, Greece · 13024 days ago · 10 km deep · 84 km away
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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.