October 12, 2021 Earthquake: Crete, Greece
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck Crete, Greece on October 12, 2021 at 09:24:03 UTC, 10 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
- October 12, 2021
- Time
- 09:24:03 UTC
- Place
- Crete, Greece
- Magnitude
- 6.4 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 10 km (6 mi)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 35.193° N, 26.256° E
- Country
- Greece
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses damaged
- Few (about 1 to 50)
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.
Although the epicenter was in the sea area 23 km east of the town of Zakros on South-East Crete, material damage has been recorded in the town of Zakros. The earthquake had a focal depth of 8.2 km. The small church of Agios Nikolaos in Xerokambos Sitias, collapsed, damages have been recorded in homes and businesses of the area. (reference #13066)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- August 8, 1303, Crete, Greece
- February 16, 1810, Iraklion (Candia), Crete, Greece
- October 12, 1856, Crete, Egypt, Greece
- May 29, 1508, Iraklion (Candia),megalokastron, Crete, Greece
- April 23, 1933, Dodecanese Islands, Greece
- July 9, 1956, Dodecanese, Greece
- September 27, 2021, Crete, Greece
- October 28, 1780, Crete, Greece
- December 1815, Crete, Greece
- 1450 BC, Lacus Cimini, Italy
- July 9, 251, Crete, Greece
- 438, Crete, Greece
- 1306, Crete, Greece
- July 1, 1494, Crete, Greece
- 1604, Crete, Greece
More
Significant earthquakes of 2021The 2000sEvery quake the USGS located in 2021Recent 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 10583.