February 1923 Kamchatka earthquake

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February 1923 Kamchatka earthquake
UTC  time1923-02-03 16:01:51
ISC  event 911271
USGS-ANSS ComCat
Local dateFebruary 4, 1923 (1923-02-04)
Local time04:01
Magnitude8.4 Mw [1]
Depth15 km
Epicenter 54°29′10″N160°28′19″E / 54.486°N 160.472°E / 54.486; 160.472
Areas affected Kamchatka, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Max. intensity XI (Extreme)
Foreshocks7.2 Mw(USGS) 1923-02-02
Casualties3

The February 1923 Kamchatka earthquake occurred on 3 February 1923. The epicenter was on the southeastern coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula. The earthquake triggered a tsunami with wave heights up to eight metres, causing damage as far away as Hawaii. [2] The maximum perceived Mercalli intensity was XI (Extreme). [3] The tsunami caused two deaths in Kamchatka and one in Hawaii.

Contents

The earthquake happened 26 years before the U.S. had the capability to issue tsunami warnings, but Thomas Jaggar, the director of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, tried to warn the Hilo harbormaster about the possibility of a tsunami. His warning was not taken seriously and one fisherman was killed when the tsunami hit. [4]

In April that same year, a smaller Ms 7.2 earthquake struck north of where the February earthquake was. It generated a much larger tsunami with run-ups of up to 30 meters, killing at least 36 people. [5] This earthquake is considered a doublet of the April event because its moment magnitude was recalculated to be at ~8.0. [6]

See also

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Many major earthquakes have occurred in the region of the Kamchatka Peninsula in far eastern Russia. Events in 1737, 1923 and 1952, were megathrust earthquakes and caused tsunamis. There are many more earthquakes and tsunamis originating from the region.

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The 1959 Kamchatka earthquake occurred on May 4 at 19:15 local time with a moment magnitude of 8.0–8.3, and a surface wave magnitude of 8.25. The epicenter was near the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russian SFSR, USSR. Building damage was reported in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The maximum intensity was VIII (Damaging) on the Medvedev–Sponheuer–Karnik scale. The intensity in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky was about VIII MSK.

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On April 13, 1923 at 15:31 UTC, an earthquake occurred off the northern coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula in the USSR, present-day Russia. The earthquake had a surface-wave magnitude (Ms ) of 6.8–7.3 and an estimated moment magnitude (Mw ) of 7.0–8.2. This event came just two months after a slightly larger earthquake with an epicenter struck south of the April event. Both earthquakes were tsunamigenic although the latter generated wave heights far exceeding that of the one in February. After two foreshocks of "moderate force", the main event caused considerable damage. Most of the 36 casualties were the result of the tsunami inundation rather than the earthquake.

The 1737 Kamchatka earthquake occurred on October 17 or 16 near the southern tip of present-day Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula. The shock was felt at approximately 03:00 local time or 16:00 UTC by residents on the peninsula and Kuril Islands. The earthquake struck at a shallow depth of roughly 40 km beneath the peninsula. The earthquake had an estimated magnitude of 9.0–9.3 on the moment magnitude scale.

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The 1841 Kamchatka earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean on May 17 at 08:00 local time. The earthquake had an epicenter off the Russian Far East's Kamchatka Peninsula. With an estimated moment magnitude of 9.0 or higher, it is one of the largest to strike the region. A large tsunami accompanied the quake, with up to 15 meters in run-up along the coast.

References

  1. M8.4 - near the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia United States Geological Survey
  2. "Comments for the Tsunami Event". NGDC/WDS Tsunami Event Database. National Geophysical Data Center . Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  3. "Comments for the Significant Earthquake". Significant Earthquake Database. National Geophysical Data Center . Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  4. PTWC History
  5. Borisov V.I. (2002). "Forgotten Tragedy". kamchatsky-krai.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  6. Bourgeois, Joanne & Pinegina, Tatiana K. (2018). "The 1997 Kronotsky earthquake and tsunami and their predecessors, Kamchatka, Russia". Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences. 18 (1): 335–350. Bibcode:2018NHESS..18..335B. doi: 10.5194/nhess-18-335-2018 . Retrieved 5 June 2021.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)