Reviewed by USGSRussia111y ago
M8.0 earthquake 43 km E of Ust’-Kamchatsk Staryy, Russia
Tuesday, January 30, 1917, 02:45:40 UTC · 56.154°N, 163.174°E
A magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck 43 km E of Ust’-Kamchatsk Staryy, Russia on Tuesday, January 30, 1917, 02:45:40 UTC, at a depth of 20.0 km (shallow). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.
- Magnitude
- 8.0
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 20 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 earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
14 megatons of TNT
That is about 935 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 29,512 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
13 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Okhotsk and North American plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
20 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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 8 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.8off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula, RussiaSeptember 15, 1905 · 66 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.3233 km SE of Atlasovo, RussiaJuly 31, 1915 · 244 km S of this epicenter
- 6.6202 km S of Ust’-Kamchatsk Staryy, RussiaMarch 18, 1914 · 193 km S of this epicenter
- 6.698 km SSW of Ust’-Kamchatsk Staryy, RussiaMarch 18, 1914 · 118 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.682 km S of Ust’-Kamchatsk Staryy, RussiaMarch 6, 1914 · 88 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.4274 km S of Ust’-Kamchatsk Staryy, RussiaMarch 27, 1914 · 266 km S of this epicenter
- 6.3Komandorskiye Ostrova, Russia regionAugust 1, 1906 · 264 km SE of this epicenter
- 5.887 km NNW of Kozyrëvsk, RussiaMay 13, 1912 · 258 km W 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. The most severe:
- 1849
Kamchatka
28 Sep 1849 · 219 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1792M8.4
Near Kamchatka
22 Aug 1792 · 251 km away · intensity XI
tsunami
- 1737M7.8
Off Kamchatka
4 Nov 1737 · 74 km away · intensity X
- 1917M7.8
Kamchatka
30 Jan 1917 · 40 km away
tsunami
- 1790M7.5
Near Kamchatka
2 Dec 1790 · 251 km away · intensity X
- 1849M7.5
Komandorsky Island
28 Oct 1849 · 219 km away · intensity X
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.