QuakeScout
Magnitude4.9

Reviewed by USGSNorthern Mariana Islands21y ago

M4.9 earthquake 112 km NW of Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands

Friday, February 25, 2005, 08:33:01 UTC · 15.910°N, 144.989°E

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 112 km NW of Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands on Friday, February 25, 2005, 08:33:01 UTC, at a depth of 26.9 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.6 on February 5, 2005.

Magnitude
4.9
Light · mwc
Depth
27 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

338 tons of TNT

That is about 1/45 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 1 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

21 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: shallow

27 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 397 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.6198 km E of Saipan, Northern Mariana IslandsApril 5, 1990 · 293 km E of this epicenter
  2. 7.1233 km NE of Saipan, Northern Mariana IslandsJuly 2, 1949 · 273 km E of this epicenter
  3. 7.0176 km ESE of San Jose Village, Northern Mariana IslandsMay 18, 1913 · 291 km SE of this epicenter
  4. 7.032 km NNE of Yigo Village, GuamOctober 26, 1912 · 232 km S of this epicenter
  5. 6.689 km N of Saipan, Northern Mariana IslandsFebruary 5, 2005 · 95 km E of this epicenter
  6. 6.6Alamagan region, Northern Mariana IslandsFebruary 10, 1921 · 274 km NE of this epicenter
  7. 6.5258 km NE of Saipan, Northern Mariana IslandsDecember 1, 1938 · 272 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. 1902M8.1

    Agana

    22 Sep 1902 · 256 km away · intensity IX

    Severe damage ($5–24M)

  2. 1849M7.5

    Guam

    25 Jan 1849 · 279 km away · intensity IX

    Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  3. 1892M7.5

    Guam

    16 May 1892 · 279 km away · intensity VIII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  4. 1825

    Ladrones Island

    Apr 1825 · 279 km away · intensity VIII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  5. 1834

    Agana

    May 1834 · 279 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  6. 1997M6.5

    Guam

    23 Apr 1997 · 214 km away · intensity VII

    Limited damage (under $1M)

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

Nearby trackers

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