May 23, 1978 Earthquake: Thessaloniki, Volvi, Langadas, Greece
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck Thessaloniki, Volvi, Langadas, Greece on May 23, 1978 at 23:34:11 UTC, 10 km below the surface.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- May 23, 1978
- Time
- 23:34:11 UTC
- Place
- Thessaloniki, Volvi, Langadas, Greece
- Magnitude
- 5.6 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 10 km (6 mi)
- Intensity
- 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 40.759° N, 23.268° E
- Country
- Greece
The toll
- Injuries
- 2
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
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.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- September 26, 1932, Hierissos-Strantonion (Chalkidiki), Greece
- June 20, 1978, Thessaloniki, Greece
- March 9, 1965, Alonisos, Skopelos, Greece
- April 30, 1954, Sophades (Karditsa), Greece
- April 20, 1954, Greece
- February 25, 1983, Skopje, Macedonia, Balkans NW, North Macedonia
- November 8, 1905, Aegean Sea, Greece
- April 19, 1955, Drakia-Agria (Magnesia), Greece
- April 21, 1955, Aegean Sea, Greece
- July 5, 1902, Thessaloniki, Greece
- May 24, 2014, Greece, Turkey
- March 8, 1957, Stephanovikion-Velestnon (Magnesia), Greece
- December 21, 1990, Edhessa, Kilkis, Greece
- July 9, 1980, Magnesia, Aegean Sea, Greece
- July 12, 1980, Volos, Greece
More
Significant earthquakes of 1978The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1978Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 4802.