Reviewed by USGSRussia74y ago
M5.9 earthquake 127 km E of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia
Wednesday, November 26, 1952, 13:25:23 UTC · 52.990°N, 160.530°E
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 127 km E of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia on Wednesday, November 26, 1952, 13:25:23 UTC, at a depth of 34.4 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.0 on November 13, 1952.
- Magnitude
- 5.9
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 34 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
10 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/2 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 20 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
79 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Okhotsk and Pacific plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
34 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 lists 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.7 on November 29, 1952. 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 116 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 · 65 km SW of this epicenter
- 8.41923 Kamchatka, Russia EarthquakeFebruary 3, 1923 · 166 km N of this epicenter
- 7.7115 km ESE of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, RussiaJune 25, 1904 · 30 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.5274 km SE of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, RussiaJune 25, 1904 · 190 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.5253 km SE of Vilyuchinsk, RussiaJune 30, 1936 · 200 km S of this epicenter
- 7.495 km NNE of Ozernovskiy, RussiaMay 4, 1911 · 237 km W of this epicenter
- 7.3233 km SE of Atlasovo, RussiaJuly 31, 1915 · 157 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.377 km ESE of Mil’kovo, RussiaFebruary 3, 1923 · 162 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 16 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 10,103 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1952M9.0
Kamchatka Peninsula
4 Nov 1952 · 41 km away · intensity VII
10,000 deaths$1 million damagetsunami
- 1737
Kamchatka
16 Oct 1737 · 272 km away
100 deathstsunami
- 1923M8.4
Kamchatka
3 Feb 1923 · 166 km away · intensity XI
3 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
- 1841M8.4
Off Kamchatka
17 May 1841 · 204 km away · intensity XI
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1904M8.3
Off Kamchatka
25 Jun 1904 · 151 km away · intensity X
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1904M8.1
Off Kamchatka
25 Jun 1904 · 151 km away · intensity X
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.