Magnitude 8.1 - EAST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS

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Earthquake Details

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Earthquake Summary

Earthquake Summary Poster

Felt Reports

Felt (VI) on Paramushir; (IV) on Iturup, Kunashir and Shikotan. Also felt (IV) at Petropavlovsk- Kamchatskiy. Felt (IV) at Misawa and (II) at Tokyo, Japan. Also felt in parts of Hokkaido and northern Honshu, Japan. Recorded (3 JMA) in eastern Hokkaido and in the Shizunai area, Hokkaido; (2 JMA ) throughout southern Hokkaido and in the Sarufutsu area, Hokkaido. Also Recorded (3 JMA) in Aomori, Iwate and Miyagi; (2 JMA) in Akita, Fukushima and Yamagata; (1 JMA) in Hyogo, Ibaraki, Kanagawa, Nagano, Saitama, Tochigi and Tokyo Prefectures, Honshu. Tsunami wave heights in centimeters (peak-to-trough) were recorded at the following tide stations: 10 at Hana-saki, Japan; 4 at Adak, 32 at Shemya Island Alaska, United States; 33 at Arena Cove, 37 at Crescent City, 20 at Port San Luis, California, United States; 9 at Nawiliwili, 14 at Kahului, 12 at Hilo, Hawaii, United States; 27 at Port Orford, Oregon, United States; 18 on Midway Island; 9 on Wake Island.

Tectonic Summary

The Kuril Islands earthquake of January 13, 2007, occurred as normal-faulting in the Pacific plate near the boundary between the Pacific plate and the Okhotsk plate. In the region of the earthquake's epicenter, the Pacific plate moves northwest with respect to the Okhotsk plate with a velocity of about 90 mm/year. The Pacific plate subducts beneath the Okhotsk plate at the Kuril Trench and becomes progressively deeper to the northwest, remaining seismically active to a depth of 680 km. The January 13 earthquake occurred approximately 95 km ESE of an M8.3 earthquake that occurred on November 15, 2006. The November 15 earthquake is the largest earthquake to have occurred in the central Kuril Islands since the early 20th century. A central Kuril Islands earthquake in 1915 is estimated to have had a magnitude of about 8. The central Kuril Islands commonly experiences one or more shocks of magnitude 6 or greater in a decade. To the southwest, the southern Kuril Islands chain experienced a magnitude 8.5 earthquake in 1963. To the northeast, a magnitude 9 earthquake occurred offshore of Kamchatka in 1952.

Tsunami Information

• NOAA Tsunami Warning Center
• Latest Tsunami Bulletin from the West Coast & Alaska Tsunami Warning Center
• Latest Tsunami Bulletin from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center

The earthquake locations and magnitudes cited in these bulletins are very preliminary, and may disagree with the more accurate USGS locations and magnitudes computed using more extensive data sets.

• Recent Tsunamis
• Tsunami Information Links

Earthquake Summary Poster: Comparison of the Kuril Islands Earthquakes of 15 November 2006 and 13 January 2007

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Scientific & Technical Information

• NEIC Moment Tensor Solution
• Global CMT Project Moment Tensor Solution
• Historic Moment Tensor Solutions
• Finite Fault
• Phase Data
• Seismicity Cross Section
• Theoretical P-Wave Travel Times
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