Today in Earthquake History

Today's Earthquake Fact:
One of man's persistent fears about earthquakes is that the Earth will open and swallow everyone and everything nearby. Shallow crevasses can form during earthquake-induced landslides, lateral spreads, or other types of ground failures. Faults, however, do not open up during an earthquake. Movement occurs along the plane of a fault, not perpendicular to it. If faults opened up, no earthquake would occur because there would be no friction to lock them together.

Year at a Glance

January

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

«« January 30

February 1 »»

Year	Location	Magnitude	Comment

1605	Tokaido, Japan	7.9	5,000 deaths. Tsunami.

1906	Off coast of Esmeraldas, Ecuador	8.8	One of the Largest Earthquakes in the World. Damage in the Tumaco, Colombia - Esmeraldas, Ecuador area from the earthquake and tsunami. Earthquake damage occurred as far as 100 km (60 mi) inland, from Cali, Colombia to Otavalo, Ecuador. Felt as far away as Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela. Tsunami waves as high as 5 m (16 ft) observed at Tumaco, but fortunately some of the waves were dissipated on offshore islands before reaching the city. About 450 houses destroyed in the Guapi area, Colombia by a series of 6 waves, the largest described as being as high as tall trees. Coastal uplift as high as 1.6 m (5 ft) observed in the harbors of Manta, Ecuador and Buenaventura, Colombia. Submarine cables were broken in several places between Buenaventura and Panama. Cable breaks also occurred off Puerto Rico, implying there may have been a tsunami generated in the Caribbean Sea as well.

1912	Prince William Sound, Alaska	7.0	One of the Largest Earthquakes in the United States.

1922	West of Eureka, California	7.3	One of the Largest Earthquakes of the United States.

1986	Ohio	5.0	Seventeen people treated for minor injuries and some damage (VI) sustained in the Painesville-Mentor area. Minor damage also occurred at Bainbridge, Bowling Green, Chardon, Geneva, Huntsburg, Kirtland, Leroy, Madison, Metals Park, Middlefield, Perry, Perry Nuclear Plant, Thompson, Warren and Willoughby. Minor damage in Pennsylvania at Albion and Linesville. Felt throughout most of Ohio and parts of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ontario, Canada. Some additional states with only a few felt reports included Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.

1991	Hindu Kush Region	6.9	Estimated 200-400 people killed, many injured and many homes destroyed or damaged in Konar, Nangarhar and Badakhshan Provinces, Afghanistan. At least 300 people killed, hundreds injured and several thousand houses damaged in the Malakand-Chitral-Peshawar area, Pakistan. Three people died of heart attacks, severe damage (VII) and landslides occurred in the Khorog area, SSR. Felt (VI) at Ishkashim, Parkhar, Dushanbe, Garm, Dzhirgatal, Lyangar and Gissar; (V) at Shaartuz, Sherkent, Gezan, Leninabad, Tashkent and Namangan; (IV) at Chimkent; (III) at Dzhambul and Frunze, SSR. Felt throughout northeastern Afghanistan, northern Pakistan and northern India as far away as Delhi. Also felt throughout Tajikistan and eastern Uzbekistan, SSR. From Significant Earthquakes of the World 1991.

Show events that occurred on: