Reviewed by USGSRussia114y ago
M6.6 earthquake 82 km S of Ust’-Kamchatsk Staryy, Russia
Friday, March 6, 1914, 19:05:33 UTC · 55.492°N, 162.389°E
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck 82 km S of Ust’-Kamchatsk Staryy, Russia on Friday, March 6, 1914, 19:05:33 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.8 on September 15, 1905.
- Magnitude
- 6.6
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 35 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
120 kilotons of TNT
That is about 8 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 251 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
70 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
35 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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.6 on March 18, 1914. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 5 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 · 102 km E of this epicenter
- 7.2143 km E of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, RussiaJune 27, 1904 · 264 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.797 km SE of Mil’kovo, RussiaJuly 24, 1904 · 241 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.3Komandorskiye Ostrova, Russia regionAugust 1, 1906 · 266 km E of this epicenter
- 5.887 km NNW of Kozyrëvsk, RussiaMay 13, 1912 · 245 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 8 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1849
Kamchatka
28 Sep 1849 · 235 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1792M8.4
Near Kamchatka
22 Aug 1792 · 168 km away · intensity XI
tsunami
- 1737M7.8
Off Kamchatka
4 Nov 1737 · 38 km away · intensity X
- 1905M7.8
Komandorsky Island
15 Sep 1905 · 296 km away
- 1790M7.5
Near Kamchatka
2 Dec 1790 · 168 km away · intensity X
- 1849M7.5
Komandorsky Island
28 Oct 1849 · 235 km away · intensity X
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.