Reviewed by USGSRussia68y ago
M7.9 earthquake 76 km ENE of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia
Monday, May 4, 1959, 07:15:47 UTC · 53.257°N, 159.732°E
A magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck 76 km ENE of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia on Monday, May 4, 1959, 07:15:47 UTC, at a depth of 55.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M9.0 on November 4, 1952.
- Magnitude
- 7.9
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 55 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 200 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
11 megatons of TNT
That is about 709 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 22,387 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
138 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
55 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 lists 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.3 on May 5, 1959. 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 204 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 9.089 km ESE of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, RussiaNovember 4, 1952 · 71 km S of this epicenter
- 8.41923 Kamchatka, Russia EarthquakeFebruary 3, 1923 · 145 km N of this epicenter
- 7.7115 km ESE of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, RussiaJune 25, 1904 · 66 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.666 km SSE of Klyuchi, RussiaOctober 27, 1957 · 292 km N of this epicenter
- 7.5274 km SE of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, RussiaJune 25, 1904 · 241 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.5253 km SE of Vilyuchinsk, RussiaJune 30, 1936 · 241 km S of this epicenter
- 7.495 km NNE of Ozernovskiy, RussiaMay 4, 1911 · 203 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.3233 km SE of Atlasovo, RussiaJuly 31, 1915 · 179 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 20 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 10,104 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1952M9.0
Kamchatka Peninsula
4 Nov 1952 · 60 km away · intensity VII
10,000 deaths$1 million damagetsunami
- 1737
Kamchatka
16 Oct 1737 · 267 km away
100 deathstsunami
- 1923M8.4
Kamchatka
3 Feb 1923 · 145 km away · intensity XI
3 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
- 1959M8.2
Near East Coast Of Kamchatka
4 May 1959 · 86 km away · intensity X
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1841M8.4
Off Kamchatka
17 May 1841 · 182 km away · intensity XI
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1904M8.3
Off Kamchatka
25 Jun 1904 · 148 km away · intensity X
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.