Reviewed by USGSKyrgyzstan117y ago
M8.0 earthquake in The 1911 Kemin Earthquake, Kyrgyzstan
Tuesday, January 3, 1911, 23:25:49 UTC · 42.919°N, 76.808°E
A magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck in The 1911 Kemin Earthquake, Kyrgyzstan on Tuesday, January 3, 1911, 23:25:49 UTC, at a depth of 20.0 km (shallow). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.
- Magnitude
- 8.0
- Great · mw
- Depth
- 20 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VIII
- Severe (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
16 megatons of TNT
That is about 1,073 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 33,884 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
978 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Eurasian and Indian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
20 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 400 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 400 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 1 M5.0+ earthquake within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 4 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 504 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1911M8.0
Alma-Ata, Turkestan; Afghanistan
3 Jan 1911 · 0 km away · intensity X
450 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1885M6.9
Belovodskoje
2 Aug 1885 · 222 km away · intensity X
54 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1889M8.3
Cilik, Alma-Ata
11 Jul 1889 · 157 km away · intensity X
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1887M7.3
Vernensk
8 Jun 1887 · 20 km away · intensity X
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.