Very dangerous M 5.6 earthquake and strong aftershocks struck Bulgaria
Image credit: Google Earth + USGS
Strong and shallow earthquake with recorded magnitude of 5.6 struck Bulgaria on May 22, 2012 at 00:00 UTC. The epicenter was just 24 km (14 miles) W of SOFIA, Bulgaria (42.686°N, 23.009°E). Recorded depth by USGS was 9.4 km (5.8 miles). EMSC recorded 5.7 magnitude earthquake with depth of 10 km.
The earthquake happened 10km from Pernik. The nearest populated places are: Studena (18km), Radomir (14km), Rudartsi (18km), Tsurkva (14km), Rayko Daskalovo (17km). The closest civilian airport is Sofia / Vrazhdebna (32km). It was felt in neighboring countries from Macedonia, Serbia and Greece.
Mainshock was followed by 4.6 magnitude earthquake (USGS) at 01:30 UTC with depth of 8.5 km, and another one magnitude 4.3 at 02:13 UTC with depth od 9.3 km.
30 people have required medical treatment however, no other casualties have been seen. The children’s ward in Pernik hospital was evacuated.
Victims who came to the hospital are numbered around 30, most of which were bruised and lacerated by fallen plaster or objects. These were not serious injuries.
The Pernik fault on which the earthquake occurred has not been activated for 100 years.
| Magnitude | 5.6 |
|---|---|
| Date-Time |
|
| Location | 42.686°N, 23.009°E |
| Depth | 9.4 km (5.8 miles) |
| Region | BULGARIA |
| Distances | 24 km (14 miles) W of SOFIA, Bulgaria 73 km (45 miles) N of Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria 115 km (71 miles) SE of Nis, Serbia 141 km (87 miles) NNE of Strumica, Macedonia |
| Location Uncertainty | horizontal +/- 10.7 km (6.6 miles); depth +/- 3.6 km (2.2 miles) |
| Parameters | NST=538, Nph=538, Dmin=20 km, Rmss=0.89 sec, Gp= 25°, M-type=teleseismic moment magnitude (Mw), Version=A |
| Source |
|
| Event ID | usb0009uyx |
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I'm a dedicated researcher, journalist, and editor at The Watchers. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, I specialize in hard science news, focusing on extreme weather, seismic and volcanic activity, space weather, and astronomy, including near-Earth objects and planetary defense strategies. You can reach me at teo /at/ watchers.news.
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