Reviewed by USGSGuam33y ago
M4.8 earthquake 41 km S of Merizo Village, Guam
Friday, September 10, 1993, 03:19:42 UTC · 12.897°N, 144.615°E
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 41 km S of Merizo Village, Guam on Friday, September 10, 1993, 03:19:42 UTC, at a depth of 67.6 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.9 on September 7, 1993.
- Magnitude
- 4.8
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 68 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: 50 km aftershock search area
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
88 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Mariana and Pacific plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
68 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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.8 on September 26, 1993. 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 362 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 · 22 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2265 km S of Merizo Village, GuamJanuary 28, 1931 · 226 km S of this epicenter
- 7.1261 km S of Merizo Village, GuamMay 9, 1917 · 222 km S of this epicenter
- 7.098 km SSE of Inarajan Village, GuamDecember 9, 1909 · 65 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.032 km NNE of Yigo Village, GuamOctober 26, 1912 · 109 km N of this epicenter
- 6.5276 km SW of Merizo Village, GuamOctober 23, 1971 · 251 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.5293 km WSW of Merizo Village, GuamOctober 24, 1971 · 269 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.446 km ENE of Yigo Village, GuamOctober 29, 1936 · 117 km NE 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:
- 1993M7.8
Tuman Bay, Apra Harbor
8 Aug 1993 · 22 km away · intensity IX
$250 million damagetsunami
- 1849M7.5
Guam
25 Jan 1849 · 188 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1909M8.0
Guam
9 Dec 1909 · 61 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1892M7.5
Guam
16 May 1892 · 188 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1825
Ladrones Island
Apr 1825 · 188 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1834
Agana
May 1834 · 188 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.