Reviewed by USGSEthiopia66y ago
M6.2 earthquake 32 km SSW of Kemisē, Ethiopia
Thursday, June 1, 1961, 23:29:25 UTC · 10.466°N, 39.717°E
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck 32 km SSW of Kemisē, Ethiopia on Thursday, June 1, 1961, 23:29:25 UTC, at a depth of 25.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.3 on September 27, 1938.
- Magnitude
- 6.2
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 25 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
25 kilotons of TNT
That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 53 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
109 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Somali and African plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
25 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 100 km
USGS lists 5 M2.5+ earthquakes within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.0 on June 2, 1961. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 8 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.347 km ESE of Kemisē, EthiopiaSeptember 27, 1938 · 57 km E of this epicenter
- 6.182 km ENE of Debre Werk’, EthiopiaNovember 18, 1942 · 118 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.035 km SW of Gewanē, EthiopiaOctober 23, 1938 · 96 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.0EthiopiaOctober 20, 1938 · 89 km S of this epicenter
- 6.034 km SSE of Asaita, EthiopiaMay 18, 1929 · 222 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.0EthiopiaSeptember 18, 1938 · 149 km SE of this epicenter
- 5.737 km SSW of Dikhil, DjiboutiOctober 30, 1926 · 275 km E of this epicenter
- 5.715 km SE of Deder, EthiopiaOctober 25, 1930 · 244 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 3 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 160 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1961M6.2
Karakore
1 Jun 1961 · 0 km away · intensity IX
160 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1842
Ankober
8 Dec 1842 · 97 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1845
Ethiopia
12 Feb 1845 · 218 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.