Reviewed by USGSNorthern Mariana Islands25y ago
M4.1 earthquake in Rota region, Northern Mariana Islands
Tuesday, October 30, 2001, 18:42:33 UTC · 14.086°N, 144.865°E
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck in Rota region, Northern Mariana Islands on Tuesday, October 30, 2001, 18:42:33 UTC, at a depth of 150.0 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 4.1
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 150 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
21 tons of TNT
That is about 1/707 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 22 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
94 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Philippine Sea and Mariana plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: intermediate
150 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 457 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 · 123 km S of this epicenter
- 7.0176 km ESE of San Jose Village, Northern Mariana IslandsMay 18, 1913 · 241 km E of this epicenter
- 7.098 km SSE of Inarajan Village, GuamDecember 9, 1909 · 187 km S of this epicenter
- 7.032 km NNE of Yigo Village, GuamOctober 26, 1912 · 31 km S of this epicenter
- 7.069 km SSE of Inarajan Village, GuamOctober 12, 2001 · 156 km S of this epicenter
- 6.549 km N of Yigo Village, GuamApril 23, 1997 · 12 km S of this epicenter
- 6.5112 km NE of Saipan, Northern Mariana IslandsJune 6, 1993 · 268 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.446 km ENE of Yigo Village, GuamOctober 29, 1936 · 57 km SE 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:
- 1993M7.8
Tuman Bay, Apra Harbor
8 Aug 1993 · 123 km away · intensity IX
$250 million damagetsunami
- 1849M7.5
Guam
25 Jan 1849 · 169 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1909M8.0
Guam
9 Dec 1909 · 177 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1892M7.5
Guam
16 May 1892 · 169 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 2001M7.0
Guam
12 Oct 2001 · 156 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1825
Ladrones Island
Apr 1825 · 169 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.