Shallow M5.0 FORESHOCK hit in the Aegean Sea 160km from Irákleion (Greece) on Tuesday Morning.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on February 18th, 2025. Last updated March 14th, 2025.

In the early morning of Tuesday February 18th, 2025, a shallow and significant Magnitude 5.0 foreshock hit in the Aegean Sea 160 kilometer from Irákleion, Greece. Türkiye is also near its epicenter.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Aegean Sea, 45 kilometers (28 mi) off the coast of Greece, 160 kilometer north-northeast of Irákleion in Crete. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 10 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Feb 18, 2025 06:46 (Athens Time) - Feb 18, 2025 04:46 Universal Time.
Location:	227 km SSW of İzmir, Türkiye. Coordinates 36°39'16"N 25°49'34"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.0 Detected by 61 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.04 .
Depth:	10 km (6 mi) A very shallow depth.
Tsunami Risk:	Low tsunami risk Earthquakes under MAG-6.5 do not usually cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake struck within proximity of multiple countries. Greece and Türkiye are both within 300km distance of its epicenter.

Located 133 kilometer (83 mi) west-southwest of the epicenter of this earthquake, Kos (South Aegean, Greece) is the nearest significant population center.

Major cities near this earthquake: İzmir is located 227 km to the north-northeast. Athens is located 237 km to the northwest. Karabağlar is located 223 km to the north-northeast.

An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below.

Overview of nearby places

Shaking reported by 1 person

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 1 person has reported shaking in one place in Greece.We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

• Mpatsí, Kikládes, Greece: 1 person.

This is likely a foreshock

This earthquake was followed by a stronger MAG-5.1 earthquake, classifying this earthquake as a foreshock.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

Earthquakes can create aftershocks. These are generally at least 1 magnitude lower than any main shock, and as time passes the chance and strength of aftershocks decreases.

In only six percent of cases, significant earthquakes are followed by a larger main shock, making the current earthquake a foreshock. While the chance of this happening is not so large, it is adviced to maintain cautiousness in the hours and days following a major earthquake.

Earthquakes like this happen often in the region

Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since February 17th, 2025, when a 5 magnitude earthquake hit 22 km (14 mi) further west. An even stronger magnitude 7 earthquake struck on October 30th, 2020.

In total, 98 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every month.

Low tsunami risk

Based on early data it appears this earthquake was not strong enough (lower than MAG-6.5) to be likely to cause destructive tsunami's. However this earthquake appeared to have hit at a shallow depth under sea, so stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Sources

Last updated 14/03/25 07:58 (). This article contains currently available information about the earthquake and is automatically composed. We continue to update this article up to a few days after the earthquake occurred.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000pefq
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250218_0000061
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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