The 1978 Thessaloniki earthquake ( el, Μεγάλος Σεισμός της Θεσσαλονίκης) occurred on 20 June at . The shock registered 6.5 on the

moment magnitude scale The moment magnitude scale (MMS; denoted explicitly with or Mw, and generally implied with use of a single M for magnitude) is a measure of an earthquake's magnitude ("size" or strength) based on its seismic moment. It was defined in a 1979 pa ...

, had a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (''Severe''), and was felt throughout

northern Greece Northern Greece ( el, Βόρεια Ελλάδα, Voreia Ellada) is used to refer to the northern parts of Greece, and can have various definitions. Administrative regions of Greece Administrative term The term "Northern Greece" is widely used ...

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

and

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

. It was the largest event in the area since the 1932 Ierissos earthquake. It was the first earthquake that hit a big city in Greece in Modern times. It is estimated that 49 people died, 37 of which were living in the same block of flats in the city center that collapsed. More than 220 people were injured and many thousands were left homeless. 3170 buildings (4.5%) were found to have severe damages ( red label), 13918 buildings (21.0%) had moderate damages (yellow label), and 49071 buildings (74.5%) were found to have no damages (green label), as per the assessment of the Greek authorities. There have also been some recorded damages in various local archaeological monuments, such as the

Arch of Galerius and Rotunda The Arch of Galerius ( el, Αψίδα του Γαλερίου) or Kamara (Καμάρα) and the Rotunda (Ροτόντα) are neighbouring early 4th-century AD monuments in the city of Thessaloniki, in the region of Central Macedonia in northern Gr ...

and the

Church of the Acheiropoietos The Church of the Acheiropoietos ( el, ) is a 5th-century Byzantine church in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia. It is located in the city's centre, at Agias Sofias street opposite Makedonomachon square. Because of its ...

References

External links

Significant earthquakes of the world - 1978
–

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

* Modern history of Thessaloniki Earthquakes in Greece 1978 in Greece 1978 earthquakes June 1978 events in Europe 1978 disasters in Greece {{Europe-earthquake-stub

See also

References

External links