Reviewed by USGSRussia103y ago
M6.5 earthquake 180 km ESE of Ust’-Kamchatsk Staryy, Russia
Monday, October 20, 1924, 19:52:50 UTC · 55.636°N, 165.174°E
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck 180 km ESE of Ust’-Kamchatsk Staryy, Russia on Monday, October 20, 1924, 19:52:50 UTC, at a depth of 25.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.0 on April 13, 1923.
- Magnitude
- 6.5
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 25 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
97 kilotons of TNT
That is about 6 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 204 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
75 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North American and Pacific plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
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 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 16 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.043 km E of Ust’-Kamchatsk Staryy, RussiaJanuary 30, 1917 · 137 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.8off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula, RussiaSeptember 15, 1905 · 78 km W of this epicenter
- 7.497 km SSE of Ust’-Kamchatsk Staryy, RussiaFebruary 24, 1923 · 123 km W of this epicenter
- 7.3233 km SE of Atlasovo, RussiaJuly 31, 1915 · 265 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.03 km ENE of Ust’-Kamchatsk Staryy, RussiaApril 13, 1923 · 178 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.6202 km S of Ust’-Kamchatsk Staryy, RussiaMarch 18, 1914 · 200 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.698 km SSW of Ust’-Kamchatsk Staryy, RussiaMarch 18, 1914 · 214 km W of this epicenter
- 6.682 km S of Ust’-Kamchatsk Staryy, RussiaMarch 6, 1914 · 176 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 11 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 18 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1923M7.2
Near Kamchatka
13 Apr 1923 · 192 km away · intensity X
18 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1923M7.7
Kamchatka Peninsula
24 Feb 1923 · 189 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)
- 1849
Kamchatka
28 Sep 1849 · 88 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1792M8.4
Near Kamchatka
22 Aug 1792 · 273 km away · intensity XI
tsunami
- 1737M7.8
Off Kamchatka
4 Nov 1737 · 138 km away · intensity X
- 1917M7.8
Kamchatka
30 Jan 1917 · 166 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.