Reviewed by USGS36y ago
M4.5 earthquake in Mariana Islands region
Tuesday, May 1, 1990, 09:05:04 UTC · 14.891°N, 148.910°E
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck in Mariana Islands region on Tuesday, May 1, 1990, 09:05:04 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.7 on April 29, 1990.
- Magnitude
- 4.5
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 33 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
85 tons of TNT
That is about 1/178 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 6 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
151 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Mariana and Pacific plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
33 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 144 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.6198 km E of Saipan, Northern Mariana IslandsApril 5, 1990 · 144 km W of this epicenter
- 7.5Mariana Islands regionJanuary 17, 1940 · 266 km N of this epicenter
- 7.1233 km NE of Saipan, Northern Mariana IslandsJuly 2, 1949 · 239 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.0176 km ESE of San Jose Village, Northern Mariana IslandsMay 18, 1913 · 208 km W of this epicenter
- 7.0233 km ESE of Saipan, Northern Mariana IslandsJune 14, 1942 · 119 km W of this epicenter
- 6.5258 km NE of Saipan, Northern Mariana IslandsDecember 1, 1938 · 299 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.3215 km ENE of Saipan, Northern Mariana IslandsMarch 19, 1932 · 197 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.3197 km E of Saipan, Northern Mariana IslandsApril 6, 1990 · 145 km W 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:
- 1990M7.5
Saipan; Guam
5 Apr 1990 · 144 km away · intensity IV
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.