Reviewed by USGSRussia100y ago
M7.2 earthquake 83 km SSE of Atlasovo, Russia
Wednesday, December 28, 1927, 18:20:32 UTC · 54.969°N, 160.343°E
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck 83 km SSE of Atlasovo, Russia on Wednesday, December 28, 1927, 18:20:32 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.4 on February 24, 1923.
- Magnitude
- 7.2
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VII
- Very strong (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
919 kilotons of TNT
That is about 61 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,928 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
200 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Okhotsk and Pacific plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
15 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 200 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 32 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.41923 Kamchatka, Russia EarthquakeFebruary 3, 1923 · 54 km S of this epicenter
- 8.043 km E of Ust’-Kamchatsk Staryy, RussiaJanuary 30, 1917 · 221 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.8off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula, RussiaSeptember 15, 1905 · 244 km E of this epicenter
- 7.7115 km ESE of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, RussiaJune 25, 1904 · 245 km S of this epicenter
- 7.497 km SSE of Ust’-Kamchatsk Staryy, RussiaFebruary 24, 1923 · 192 km E of this epicenter
- 7.3233 km SE of Atlasovo, RussiaJuly 31, 1915 · 152 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.377 km ESE of Mil’kovo, RussiaFebruary 3, 1923 · 81 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.3163 km ENE of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, RussiaFebruary 2, 1923 · 140 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 12 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 21 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1923M7.2
Near Kamchatka
13 Apr 1923 · 217 km away · intensity X
18 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1923M8.4
Kamchatka
3 Feb 1923 · 54 km away · intensity XI
3 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
- 1923M7.7
Kamchatka Peninsula
24 Feb 1923 · 131 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)
- 1827
Kamchatka
9 Aug 1827 · 250 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1792M8.4
Near Kamchatka
22 Aug 1792 · 152 km away · intensity XI
tsunami
- 1899M7.9
Kamchatka Peninsula
23 Nov 1899 · 236 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.