Reviewed by USGSRussia83y ago
M7.1 earthquake 85 km ENE of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia
Saturday, September 23, 1944, 12:13:24 UTC · 53.427°N, 159.750°E
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck 85 km ENE of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia on Saturday, September 23, 1944, 12:13:24 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.5 on June 30, 1936.
- Magnitude
- 7.1
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 35 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
629 kilotons of TNT
That is about 42 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,318 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
149 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
35 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 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.9 on September 25, 1944. 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 64 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.41923 Kamchatka, Russia EarthquakeFebruary 3, 1923 · 127 km N of this epicenter
- 7.7115 km ESE of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, RussiaJune 25, 1904 · 82 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.5274 km SE of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, RussiaJune 25, 1904 · 257 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.5253 km SE of Vilyuchinsk, RussiaJune 30, 1936 · 258 km S of this epicenter
- 7.495 km NNE of Ozernovskiy, RussiaMay 4, 1911 · 215 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.3233 km SE of Atlasovo, RussiaJuly 31, 1915 · 169 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.377 km ESE of Mil’kovo, RussiaFebruary 3, 1923 · 103 km N of this epicenter
- 7.3163 km ENE of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, RussiaFebruary 2, 1923 · 78 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 15 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 103 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1737
Kamchatka
16 Oct 1737 · 285 km away
100 deathstsunami
- 1923M8.4
Kamchatka
3 Feb 1923 · 127 km away · intensity XI
3 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
- 1841M8.4
Off Kamchatka
17 May 1841 · 198 km away · intensity XI
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1904M8.3
Off Kamchatka
25 Jun 1904 · 167 km away · intensity X
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1904M8.1
Off Kamchatka
25 Jun 1904 · 167 km away · intensity X
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1923M7.7
Kamchatka Peninsula
24 Feb 1923 · 245 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.