March 8, 2015 Earthquake: Kosjeric, Serbia, Balkans NW

Tectonic Summary

Seismotectonics of the Mediterranean Region and Vicinity

The Mediterranean region is seismically active due to the northward convergence (4-10 mm/yr) of the African plate with respect to the Eurasian plate along a complex plate boundary. This convergence began approximately 50 Ma and was associated with the closure of the Tethys Sea. The modern day remnant of the Tethys Sea is the Mediterranean Sea. The highest rates of seismicity in the Mediterranean region are found along the Hellenic subduction zone of southern Greece, along the North Anatolian Fault Zone of western Turkey and the Calabrian subduction zone of southern Italy. Local high rates of convergence at the Hellenic subduction zone (35mm/yr) are associated with back-arc spreading throughout Greece and western Turkey above the subducting Mediterranean oceanic crust. Crustal normal faulting throughout this region is a manifestation of extensional tectonics associated with the back-arc spreading. The region of the Marmara Sea is a transition zone between this extensional regime, to the west, and the strike-slip regime of the North Anatolian Fault Zone, to the east. The North Anatolian Fault accommodates much of the right-lateral horizontal motion (23-24 mm/yr) between the Anatolian micro-plate and Eurasian plate as the Anatolian micro-plate is being pushed westward to further accommodate closure of the Mediterranean basin caused by the collision of the African and Arabian plates in southeastern Turkey. Subduction of the Mediterranean Sea floor beneath the Tyrrhenian Sea at the Calabrian subduction zone causes a significant zone of seismicity around Sicily and southern Italy. Active volcanoes are located above intermediate depth earthquakes in the Cyclades of the Aegean Sea and in southern Italy.

Impact Text

Felt (IV) at Sremcica and (III) at Belgrade. Also felt at Bor, Borca, Cacak, Gornji Milanovac, Korjeric, Kragujevac and Novi Sad. Felt at Bijeljina and Prnjavor, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

(above from reference #13456)

A 4.6 magnitude earthquake with the epicenter near Kosjeric, and 15 kilometers south of Valjevo, in western Serbia, was registered at 21:47 CET on Sunday. The 30-second earthquake that was preceded by what was described as "a loud bang" was felt throughout the country. Municipal President Milijan Stojanic told B92 last night that beside the cracks that formed in the walls on some homes in the village of Mrcici at the epicenter, no other damage was reported. However, Tanjug on Monday morning quoted him as saying that about 100 houses have been damaged, and that some areas of the village are still inaccessible due to snowdrifts. Stojanic explained that the damage was done mostly to chimneys and roofs on older houses, and that minor damage was also reported at the Culture Center and the municipal building in Kosjeric itself. (reference #11198)