Reviewed by USGSRussia112y ago
M7.3 earthquake 233 km SE of Atlasovo, Russia
Saturday, July 31, 1915, 01:31:31 UTC · 54.050°N, 162.089°E
A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck 233 km SE of Atlasovo, Russia on Saturday, July 31, 1915, 01:31:31 UTC, at a depth of 20.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.8 on September 15, 1905.
- Magnitude
- 7.3
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 20 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
1.5 megatons of TNT
That is about 102 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 3,236 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
60 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Okhotsk and Pacific 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 13 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 · 224 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.7115 km ESE of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, RussiaJune 25, 1904 · 187 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.5274 km SE of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, RussiaJune 25, 1904 · 294 km S of this epicenter
- 7.2143 km E of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, RussiaJune 27, 1904 · 120 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.854 km SSE of Vilyuchinsk, RussiaJanuary 20, 1914 · 286 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.797 km SE of Mil’kovo, RussiaJuly 24, 1904 · 162 km W of this epicenter
- 6.6202 km S of Ust’-Kamchatsk Staryy, RussiaMarch 18, 1914 · 65 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.698 km SSW of Ust’-Kamchatsk Staryy, RussiaMarch 18, 1914 · 155 km N 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. The most severe:
- 1827
Kamchatka
9 Aug 1827 · 264 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1849
Kamchatka
28 Sep 1849 · 274 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1792M8.4
Near Kamchatka
22 Aug 1792 · 8 km away · intensity XI
tsunami
- 1899M7.9
Kamchatka Peninsula
23 Nov 1899 · 235 km away
- 1737M7.8
Off Kamchatka
4 Nov 1737 · 171 km away · intensity X
- 1905M7.8
Komandorsky Island
15 Sep 1905 · 172 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.