M5.3 earthquake 1 km NNW of Martigny-Combe, Switzerland

Saturday, April 29, 1905, 01:47:02 UTC · 46.094°N, 7.040°E

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 1 km NNW of Martigny-Combe, Switzerland on Saturday, April 29, 1905, 01:47:02 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.

Magnitude: 5.3; Moderate · mw
Depth: 15 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 0; Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking: —; No ShakeMap
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquake

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

1 kilotons of TNT

That is about 1/11 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 3 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

544 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North American 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 75 km

USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists no earlier M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km.

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 28 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 686 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1887M6.5
Ligurian Coast
23 Feb 1887 · 258 km away · intensity X
600 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
1834
Borgo Val Di Taro
14 Feb 1834 · 272 km away · intensity X
60 deathsUnder $1 million damage
1828M5.7
Pavia
9 Oct 1828 · 211 km away · intensity VIII
15 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1817M8.0
Chamonix Valley
11 Mar 1817 · 28 km away
4 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
1831
Coast Of Liguria
26 May 1831 · 262 km away · intensity IX
4 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
1808M5.7
Valley Of Pellice, Chisone
2 Apr 1808 · 141 km away · intensity IX
2 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

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