Reviewed by USGSNorthern Mariana Islands86y ago
M6.2 earthquake 42 km N of Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands
Saturday, July 26, 1941, 20:11:22 UTC · 15.589°N, 145.827°E
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck 42 km N of Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands on Saturday, July 26, 1941, 20:11:22 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.5 on January 17, 1940.
- Magnitude
- 6.2
- Strong · 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
33 kilotons of TNT
That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 70 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
110 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Philippine Sea and Mariana 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 100 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 19 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.5Mariana Islands regionJanuary 17, 1940 · 294 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.0176 km ESE of San Jose Village, Northern Mariana IslandsMay 18, 1913 · 201 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.032 km NNE of Yigo Village, GuamOctober 26, 1912 · 218 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.6Alamagan region, Northern Mariana IslandsFebruary 10, 1921 · 260 km N of this epicenter
- 6.5258 km NE of Saipan, Northern Mariana IslandsDecember 1, 1938 · 222 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.446 km ENE of Yigo Village, GuamOctober 29, 1936 · 214 km S of this epicenter
- 6.3215 km ENE of Saipan, Northern Mariana IslandsMarch 19, 1932 · 193 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 1 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1902M8.1
Agana
22 Sep 1902 · 269 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.