Reviewed by USGS11y ago
M4.8 earthquake in Prince Edward Islands region
Tuesday, December 16, 2014, 15:38:17 UTC · 47.042°S, 33.307°E
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck in Prince Edward Islands region on Tuesday, December 16, 2014, 15:38:17 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.9 on November 18, 2014.
- Magnitude
- 4.8
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 10 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Max intensity I
- 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
239 tons of TNT
That is about 1/63 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 2 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
3 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 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 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 · 222 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.4Prince Edward Islands regionJanuary 27, 2003 · 174 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.3Prince Edward Islands regionOctober 5, 1941 · 266 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.3Prince Edward Islands regionMay 9, 2003 · 151 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.3Prince Edward Islands regionJuly 22, 2013 · 158 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.3Prince Edward Islands regionAugust 4, 1957 · 215 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.2south of AfricaJune 8, 1968 · 257 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.2Prince Edward Islands regionAugust 21, 1978 · 91 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 1 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1942M7.9
Prince Edward Island
10 Nov 1942 · 290 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.