QuakeScout
Magnitude4.8

Reviewed by USGSGuam25y ago

M4.8 earthquake 192 km SW of Merizo Village, Guam

Friday, November 9, 2001, 20:14:42 UTC · 11.833°N, 143.662°E

A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 192 km SW of Merizo Village, Guam on Friday, November 9, 2001, 20:14:42 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.2 on October 14, 2001.

Magnitude
4.8
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

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

27 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

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 458 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 · 178 km NE of this epicenter
  2. 7.2265 km S of Merizo Village, GuamJanuary 28, 1931 · 138 km SE of this epicenter
  3. 7.1261 km S of Merizo Village, GuamMay 9, 1917 · 131 km SE of this epicenter
  4. 7.098 km SSE of Inarajan Village, GuamDecember 9, 1909 · 154 km NE of this epicenter
  5. 7.032 km NNE of Yigo Village, GuamOctober 26, 1912 · 262 km NE of this epicenter
  6. 7.069 km SSE of Inarajan Village, GuamOctober 12, 2001 · 172 km NE of this epicenter
  7. 6.7Mariana Islands regionOctober 18, 1935 · 255 km W of this epicenter
  8. 6.5276 km SW of Merizo Village, GuamOctober 23, 1971 · 121 km W 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 · 178 km away · intensity IX

    $250 million damagetsunami

  2. 1849M7.5

    Guam

    25 Jan 1849 · 244 km away · intensity IX

    Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  3. 1909M8.0

    Guam

    9 Dec 1909 · 163 km away · intensity VIII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  4. 1892M7.5

    Guam

    16 May 1892 · 244 km away · intensity VIII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  5. 2001M7.0

    Guam

    12 Oct 2001 · 172 km away · intensity VIII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  6. 1825

    Ladrones Island

    Apr 1825 · 244 km away · intensity VIII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

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

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