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1959 Kamchatka earthquake

Earthquake in 1959 located in Kamchatka

Summary

Earthquake in 1959 located in Kamchatka

Field	Value
title	1959 Kamchatka earthquake
timestamp	1959-05-04 07:15:47
isc-event	881925
anss-url	iscgem881925
local-date
local-time	19:15
map2	{{Location map+	Russia Kamchatka Krai
{{Location map~	Russia Kamchatka Krai	lat	53.01	long=158.39	label_size=100	label=Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky	position=left	mark=Green pog.svg}}
{{Location map~	Russia Kamchatka Krai	lat	53.37	long=159.66	mark=Bullseye1.png	marksize=40}}
lat	53.37
long	159.66
mark	Bullseye1.png
marksize	40
position	top
width	250
float	right
relief	yes}}
magnitude	8.25 , 8.0–8.3
depth	20-60 km
location
countries affected	USSR
intensity
casualties	1 killed, 13 injured

| isc-event = 881925 | anss-url = iscgem881925 | local-date = | local-time = 19:15

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.

The earthquake triggered a tsunami with 0.2 m of runup that was recorded in Massacre Bay, Alaska, in the United States. Subduction is active along about the southern half of the eastern coast of Kamchatka Peninsula, between its junctions with the Aleutian Islands and the Kuril Islands.

Tectonic setting

Kamchatka lies near a large convergent boundary—the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench—which accommodates the subduction of the Pacific plate under the Okhotsk plate (a microplate within the North American plate). Subduction occurs at a rate of 80 mm/yr at the trench, increasing from north to south. This subduction zone generates Kamchatka earthquakes and their associated tsunamis. This subduction zone is associated with many large events throughout history, including earthquakes in 1737, 1841, 1923, and 1952. The 1737 earthquake was likely the strongest event on the peninsula, with magnitudes reaching 9.3 and tsunami run-ups reportedly exceeding 60 m The 1841 event is considered slightly weaker, with maximum magnitude estimates reaching 9.0–9.2, and the tsunami run-up was 15 m. The 1923 earthquake was also quite strong, measuring 8.5. The 1952 event was the most recent of the great earthquakes ( 8.5+) along the Kuril-Kamchatka trench, and measured 9.0. The resulting tsunami from this earthquake generated runups up to 18 meters high.

Earthquake

The earthquake struck at 7:15 UTC, or 19:15 local time on May 4, 1959. The earthquake occurred at a depth of 20-60 km, with a magnitude of 8.0–8.3. This event nucleated near where the 1952 earthquake ruptured with the most slip, and just south of the 1923 earthquake. The shock ruptured an area 160 km wide, and 110 km long. The maximum intensity on the Medvedev–Sponheuer–Karnik scale (MSK) was VIII (Damaging), and maximum felt intensities in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky were also MSK VIII.

Tsunami

The tsunami was small, which was expected for the size of the earthquake. Run-ups of 1.5-2 m were recorded, and at the Honolulu tide gauge, readings of 0.1 m above the tide were also recorded. Readings of 0.2 m run-ups in Hawaii were reported as well. In Massacre Bay, Alaska, run-ups of up to 0.2 m were recorded.

References

Sources

References

(2002). "World Housing Encyclopedia Report". [[Earthquake Engineering Research Institute]].
Office of Technical Services. (1959). "Information on Soviet Bloc International Geophysical Cooperation – 1959". [[United States Department of Commerce]].
(12 December 2013). "Enormous earthquakes 'are missing' from records". BBC News.
The great Alaska earthquake of 1964, Vol. 5 by National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on the Alaska Earthquake

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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