Reviewed by USGSRussia105y ago
M6.7 earthquake 75 km E of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia
Wednesday, August 16, 1922, 15:56:33 UTC · 52.981°N, 159.741°E
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck 75 km E of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia on Wednesday, August 16, 1922, 15:56:33 UTC, at a depth of 45.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.9 on March 24, 1921.
- Magnitude
- 6.7
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 45 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VI
- Strong (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
194 kilotons of TNT
That is about 13 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 407 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
119 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
45 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 17 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.7115 km ESE of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, RussiaJune 25, 1904 · 43 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.5274 km SE of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, RussiaJune 25, 1904 · 216 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.495 km NNE of Ozernovskiy, RussiaMay 4, 1911 · 188 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.3233 km SE of Atlasovo, RussiaJuly 31, 1915 · 196 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2143 km E of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, RussiaJune 27, 1904 · 76 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.297 km NNE of Ozernovskiy, RussiaAugust 17, 1907 · 211 km W of this epicenter
- 6.9119 km E of Ozernovskiy, RussiaMarch 24, 1921 · 205 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.854 km SSE of Vilyuchinsk, RussiaJanuary 20, 1914 · 91 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 12 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 100 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1737
Kamchatka
16 Oct 1737 · 241 km away
100 deathstsunami
- 1841M8.4
Off Kamchatka
17 May 1841 · 161 km away · intensity XI
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1904M8.3
Off Kamchatka
25 Jun 1904 · 120 km away · intensity X
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1904M8.1
Off Kamchatka
25 Jun 1904 · 120 km away · intensity X
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1827
Kamchatka
9 Aug 1827 · 83 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1792M8.4
Near Kamchatka
22 Aug 1792 · 188 km away · intensity XI
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.