QuakeScout
Magnitude4.2

Reviewed by USGSGuam29y ago

M4.2 earthquake 80 km NE of Yigo Village, Guam

Saturday, May 17, 1997, 03:06:14 UTC · 14.059°N, 145.412°E

A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 80 km NE of Yigo Village, Guam on Saturday, May 17, 1997, 03:06:14 UTC, at a depth of 82.0 km (intermediate).

Magnitude
4.2
Light · mb
Depth
82 km
Intermediate
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

30 tons of TNT

That is about 1/500 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 16 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

135 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Philippine Sea and Mariana plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.

Depth: intermediate

82 km

Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.

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 449 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.832 km S of Inarajan Village, GuamAugust 8, 1993 · 137 km SW of this epicenter
  2. 7.6198 km E of Saipan, Northern Mariana IslandsApril 5, 1990 · 263 km NE of this epicenter
  3. 7.0176 km ESE of San Jose Village, Northern Mariana IslandsMay 18, 1913 · 182 km E of this epicenter
  4. 7.098 km SSE of Inarajan Village, GuamDecember 9, 1909 · 190 km S of this epicenter
  5. 7.032 km NNE of Yigo Village, GuamOctober 26, 1912 · 56 km SW of this epicenter
  6. 7.0233 km ESE of Saipan, Northern Mariana IslandsJune 14, 1942 · 269 km E of this epicenter
  7. 6.549 km N of Yigo Village, GuamApril 23, 1997 · 56 km W of this epicenter
  8. 6.5112 km NE of Saipan, Northern Mariana IslandsJune 6, 1993 · 234 km NE of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 11 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:

  1. 1993M7.8

    Tuman Bay, Apra Harbor

    8 Aug 1993 · 137 km away · intensity IX

    $250 million damagetsunami

  2. 1849M7.5

    Guam

    25 Jan 1849 · 228 km away · intensity IX

    Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  3. 1909M8.0

    Guam

    9 Dec 1909 · 179 km away · intensity VIII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  4. 1892M7.5

    Guam

    16 May 1892 · 228 km away · intensity VIII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  5. 1825

    Ladrones Island

    Apr 1825 · 228 km away · intensity VIII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  6. 1834

    Agana

    May 1834 · 228 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers

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