Reviewed by USGSRussia124y ago
M7.2 earthquake 143 km E of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia
Monday, June 27, 1904, 00:09:21 UTC · 53.325°N, 160.734°E
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck 143 km E of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia on Monday, June 27, 1904, 00:09:21 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.7 on June 25, 1904.
- Magnitude
- 7.2
- Major · 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: 200 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
951 kilotons of TNT
That is about 63 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,995 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
93 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
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 200 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.7 on July 24, 1904. 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 4 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 · 70 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.5274 km SE of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, RussiaJune 25, 1904 · 220 km S of this epicenter
- 6.2155 km E of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, RussiaJune 26, 1904 · 48 km S of this epicenter
- 6.1162 km ESE of Ozernovskiy, RussiaJune 24, 1904 · 293 km SW 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:
- 1841M8.4
Off Kamchatka
17 May 1841 · 236 km away · intensity XI
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1904M8.3
Off Kamchatka
25 Jun 1904 · 188 km away · intensity X
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1904M8.1
Off Kamchatka
25 Jun 1904 · 188 km away · intensity X
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1827
Kamchatka
9 Aug 1827 · 153 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1792M8.4
Near Kamchatka
22 Aug 1792 · 112 km away · intensity XI
tsunami
- 1899M7.9
Kamchatka Peninsula
23 Nov 1899 · 121 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.