Reviewed by USGSRussia120y ago
M5.5 earthquake 90 km ENE of Novokayakent, Russia
Wednesday, August 21, 1907, 05:11:17 UTC · 42.775°N, 48.965°E
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 90 km ENE of Novokayakent, Russia on Wednesday, August 21, 1907, 05:11:17 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
- 5.5
- 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
3 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/5 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 6 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
731 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Eurasian and Arabian 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 10 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,668 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1902M6.9
Semacha; N Iran
13 Feb 1902 · 233 km away · intensity IX
2,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1830
Russia
9 Mar 1830 · 144 km away · intensity IX
410 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1872M5.7
Shemakha (Semacha)
28 Jan 1872 · 243 km away · intensity X
118 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1859M5.9
Shemakha (Semacha)
11 Jun 1859 · 234 km away · intensity IX
100 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1830M6.3
Dagestan
9 Mar 1830 · 162 km away · intensity IX
40 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1828M5.7
Shemakha (Semacha)
9 Aug 1828 · 235 km away · intensity VIII
Severe damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.