August 6, 1983 Earthquake: Aegean Sea, Greece
A magnitude 7 earthquake struck Aegean Sea, Greece on August 6, 1983 at 15:43:51 UTC, 2 km below the surface. It caused a tsunami.
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
- August 6, 1983
- Time
- 15:43:51 UTC
- Place
- Aegean Sea, Greece
- Magnitude
- 7 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 2 km (1 mi)
- Intensity
- 6 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 40.142° N, 24.766° E
- Country
- Greece
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 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.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Slight damage on Limnos and to four monasteries in the Mouth Athos area. Felt strongly in northern Greece, southern Bulgaria, and northwestern Turkey. (reference #1053)
Small tsunami was generated. (reference #97)
1983, August 6, 15:43 UTC. 40 N, 24.7 E, magnitude 6.8, intensity VI (Lemnos). It is a strong earthquake of the northern Aegean which was very strongly felt in Lemnos,
Thassos and Lesbos. It caused a light sea wave in Myrina of Lemnos (Papaioannou Ch., 1983, personal communication). It was followed by aftershocks the largest of which occurred on 10 October (10:17, M=5.7). (reference #4408)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- March 7, 1867, Izmir, Mitilini, Turkey, Greece
- August 6, 1384, Lesbos, Greece
- September 26, 1932, Hierissos-Strantonion (Chalkidiki), Greece
- June 20, 1978, Thessaloniki, Greece
- March 9, 1965, Alonisos, Skopelos, Greece
- June 18, 1953, Edirne, Turkey
- October 6, 1944, Ayvalik, Turkey
- October 25, 1889, Lesbos, Greece
- February 19, 1968, St Eustratios, Aegean Sea, Greece
- 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
More
Significant earthquakes of 1983The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1983Recent 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 4985.