Reviewed by USGSNorthern Mariana Islands21y ago
M3.9 earthquake 51 km NNW of Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands
Sunday, February 27, 2005, 02:14:06 UTC · 15.634°N, 145.561°E
A magnitude 3.9 earthquake struck 51 km NNW of Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands on Sunday, February 27, 2005, 02:14:06 UTC, at a depth of 149.2 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 3.9
- Minor · mb
- Depth
- 149 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
11 tons of TNT
That is about 1/1,410 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 45 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
82 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
149 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 447 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.6198 km E of Saipan, Northern Mariana IslandsApril 5, 1990 · 225 km E of this epicenter
- 7.1233 km NE of Saipan, Northern Mariana IslandsJuly 2, 1949 · 226 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.0176 km ESE of San Jose Village, Northern Mariana IslandsMay 18, 1913 · 225 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.032 km NNE of Yigo Village, GuamOctober 26, 1912 · 212 km S of this epicenter
- 7.0233 km ESE of Saipan, Northern Mariana IslandsJune 14, 1942 · 269 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.689 km N of Saipan, Northern Mariana IslandsFebruary 5, 2005 · 53 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.6Alamagan region, Northern Mariana IslandsFebruary 10, 1921 · 266 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 5 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1902M8.1
Agana
22 Sep 1902 · 267 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1997M6.5
Guam
23 Apr 1997 · 197 km away · intensity VII
Limited damage (under $1M)
- 2002M6.5
Saipan
14 Aug 2002 · 184 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)
- 1975M6.1
Guam
1 Nov 1975 · 217 km away · intensity VII
Limited damage (under $1M)
- 1990M7.5
Saipan; Guam
5 Apr 1990 · 225 km away · intensity IV
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.