Reviewed by USGSGuam12y ago
M4.6 earthquake 105 km NNW of Piti Village, Guam
Friday, September 26, 2014, 09:21:02 UTC · 14.268°N, 144.174°E
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 105 km NNW of Piti Village, Guam on Friday, September 26, 2014, 09:21:02 UTC, at a depth of 22.9 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.7 on September 19, 2014.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 23 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
120 tons of TNT
That is about 1/126 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 4 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
17 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Philippine Sea and Mariana plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
23 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 50 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 620 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.832 km S of Inarajan Village, GuamAugust 8, 1993 · 158 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.120 km SSW of Merizo Village, GuamApril 26, 2002 · 140 km S of this epicenter
- 7.098 km SSE of Inarajan Village, GuamDecember 9, 1909 · 223 km S of this epicenter
- 7.032 km NNE of Yigo Village, GuamOctober 26, 1912 · 98 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.069 km SSE of Inarajan Village, GuamOctober 12, 2001 · 196 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.8181 km WSW of Merizo Village, GuamMay 9, 2008 · 222 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.743 km NW of Piti Village, GuamSeptember 17, 2014 · 62 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.689 km N of Saipan, Northern Mariana IslandsFebruary 5, 2005 · 266 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 13 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1993M7.8
Tuman Bay, Apra Harbor
8 Aug 1993 · 158 km away · intensity IX
$250 million damagetsunami
- 1849M7.5
Guam
25 Jan 1849 · 99 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1909M8.0
Guam
9 Dec 1909 · 216 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1892M7.5
Guam
16 May 1892 · 99 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 2001M7.0
Guam
12 Oct 2001 · 196 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1825
Ladrones Island
Apr 1825 · 99 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.