Reviewed by USGSRussia106y ago
M5.9 earthquake 7 km NE of Alagir, Russia
Wednesday, June 29, 1921, 11:37:59 UTC · 43.095°N, 44.279°E
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 7 km NE of Alagir, Russia on Wednesday, June 29, 1921, 11:37:59 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.3 on February 20, 1920.
- Magnitude
- 5.9
- Moderate · 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
11 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 24 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
514 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Anatolian and Eurasian 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 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 10 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.428 km N of Tqvarch'eli, GeorgiaOctober 21, 1905 · 212 km W of this epicenter
- 6.3AzerbaijanFebruary 20, 1920 · 230 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.05 km NE of Ts’inandali, GeorgiaFebruary 20, 1920 · 170 km SE of this epicenter
- 5.83 km W of Stepanavan, ArmeniaOctober 12, 1912 · 232 km S of this epicenter
- 5.814 km SSW of Akhmet’a, GeorgiaApril 20, 1913 · 148 km SE of this epicenter
- 5.614 km WNW of Borzoy, RussiaJanuary 14, 1915 · 99 km E of this epicenter
- 5.614 km W of Uchkulan, RussiaOctober 21, 1905 · 196 km W of this epicenter
- 5.57 km ENE of Vurğun, AzerbaijanOctober 20, 1906 · 242 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 9 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 1,697 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1903M5.8
Varginis,Cardahli,Mehkerek
28 May 1903 · 277 km away · intensity VIII
1,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1830
Russia
9 Mar 1830 · 265 km away · intensity IX
410 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1899M5.6
Turkey
31 Dec 1899 · 178 km away
247 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1830M6.3
Dagestan
9 Mar 1830 · 221 km away · intensity IX
40 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1920M6.2
Caucasus: Gori, Tiflis
20 Feb 1920 · 123 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1888M6.1
Turkey
22 Sep 1888 · 215 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.