|
| Year |
Location |
Magnitude |
Comment |
|
| 1946 |
Vancouver Island, Canada
|
7.3 |
Vancouver Island's largest historic earthquake.
Heavy deamage occurred in the epicentral area.
The Canadian Hydrographic Department reported
the bottom of Deep Bay in the Strait of
Georgia sank from about 3 to 25 m. A
3-m vertical ground shift occurred on
Read Island, and ground settlements
as much as 30.5 m were observed at
other points.
In the United States,
some chimneys fell at East Sound, San
Juan County, Washington; a concrete mill
was damaged at Port Angeles; and
buildings were damaged slightly at
Northport, Port Townsend, and to the
south as far as Olympia. At Seattle,
plaster fell in the County-City
Building, and a few bricks fell from
the Sears-Roebuck Building. Also
felt at several towns in Oregon.
Abridged from Seismicity of the United States, 1568-1989 (Revised), by Carl W. Stover and Jerry L. Coffman, U.S. Geological
Survey Professional Paper 1527, United States Government Printing Office, Washington: 1993.
|
|
| 2001 |
Near the Coast of Peru
|
8.4 |
At least 75 people killed, including 26 killed by a tsunami, 2,687 injured, 17,510 homes destroyed and 35,549 homes
damaged in the Arequipa-Camana-Tacna area. An additional 64 people missing due to the tsunami in the Camana-Chala
area. Landslides blocked highways in the epicentral area. Many of the historic buildings at Arequipa were damaged or
destroyed. Some people injured and damage reported in the Arica, Chile area. Felt (VIII) at Arica, (VI) at Iquique, (V) at
Calama and (III) at Tocopilla, Chile. Felt strongly in much of southern Peru and northern Chile. Also felt in Bolivia. Tsunami
runup heights near Camana are estimated from field evidence to have reached approximately 7m at some locations; at other
locations, the tsunami inundation distance extended more than 1 km inland from the coast. Tsunami wave heights
(peak-to-trough) recorded from selected tide stations: 2.5m at Arica; 1.5m at Iquique; 1.0m at Coquimbo, Chile. The
earthquake occurred at the boundary between the Nazca and South American tectonic plates. The two plates are
converging towards each other at a rate of about 78mm per year. The earthquake occurred as thrust-faulting on the
interface between the two plates, with the South American plate moving up and seaward over the Nazca plate.
Southwestern Peru has a history of very large earthquakes. The June 23 shock originated just southeast of the source of a
magnitude 7.7 earthquake that occurred in 1996, and it appears to have involved rupture of part of the plate boundary
segment that produced an earthquake of magnitude approximately 9.0 in 1868. The 1868 earthquake was destructive in
towns that were heavily damaged in the June 23 earthquake. The 1868 earthquake produced a tsunami that killed
thousands of people along the South American coast and also caused damage in Hawaii and alarm in Japan.Complex
event. The initial onset consists of two events separated by about 6 seconds. It is followed by at least one larger complex
event occurring about 40 seconds later.
From
Significant Earthquakes of the World 2001
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|
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U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey