Reviewed by USGS12y ago
M6.1 earthquake in Prince Edward Islands region
Monday, November 17, 2014, 16:52:46 UTC · 46.348°S, 33.804°E
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck in Prince Edward Islands region on Monday, November 17, 2014, 16:52:46 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). The USGS PAGER alert is green: low likelihood of casualties and damage. It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.3 on July 22, 2013.
- Magnitude
- 6.1
- Strong · mww
- Depth
- 10 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Max intensity I
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- Green
- Impact estimate
- 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
21 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 45 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
18 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Somali and Antarctic plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
10 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 populated area was estimated to feel noticeable shaking.
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 M4.8 on December 16, 2014. 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 62 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.7Prince Edward Islands regionAugust 25, 1924 · 136 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.4Prince Edward Islands regionJanuary 27, 2003 · 102 km E of this epicenter
- 6.3Prince Edward Islands regionOctober 5, 1941 · 194 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.3Prince Edward Islands regionMay 9, 2003 · 237 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.3Prince Edward Islands regionJuly 22, 2013 · 82 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.3Prince Edward Islands regionAugust 4, 1957 · 131 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.2Prince Edward Islands regionAugust 7, 2005 · 84 km S of this epicenter
- 6.2Prince Edward Islands regionAugust 21, 1978 · 175 km SW of this epicenter