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Today in Earthquake History

Today in Earthquake History

Today's Earthquake Fact:
The term seismic seiche was first coined by Anders Kvale in 1955, to describe oscillation of lake levels in Norway and England caused by the Assam earthquake of August, 1950.

May   10

Note: All earthquake dates are UTC, not local time.


Year Location Magnitude Comment
1877 Chile

Epicenter
8.3 This earthquake produced a 24 meter tsunami that caused extensive damage along the Peru-Chile coast. It was observed throughout the Pacific Basin including Samoa, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Mexico and California. The tsunami was observed at all the islands of the Hawaiian archipelago. The tsunami caused fatalities in Hawaii and Japan.
From NOAA's National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) Significant Earthquake Database.
1974 China

Epicenter
6.8 20,000 dead.
One of the world's deadliest earthquakes.
1985 New Britain Region

Epicenter
7.3 One person killed. Damage (VIII) in the Bialla-Hoskins area. Extensive landslides, debris flows and fallen trees in the Nakanai Mountains. Ground cracks and subsidence occurred. A temporary hot springs was observed near Malosi. Felt (V) at Rabaul. Felt strongly in many parts of Papua New Guinea.
From Significant Earthquakes of the World, 1985.
1997 Northern Iran

Epicenter
7.3 One of the world's deadliest earthquakes.
At least 1,567 people killed, 2,300 injured, 50,000 homeless, 10,533 houses destroyed, 5,474 houses damaged and landslides in the Birjand-Qayen area. Five people killed and some damage in the Herat area, Afghanistan. Felt in the Kerman, Khorasan, Semnan, Sistan va Baluchestan and Yazd regions of Iran. This earthquake occurred on the Abiz fault, as confirmed by field work of Manuel Berberian. This fault is north of the collision zone between the Arabian and Eurasian plates. The region of the Abiz fault is comprised of several microplates and is tectonically very active. The most notable regional earthquake was the Dasht-e-Bayez earthquake (magnitude 7.3) of 1968, which resulted in 12,000-20,000 deaths. Both the Abiz and Dasht-e-Bayez earthquakes showed left-laterial, strike-slip faulting.

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