1997 Kamchatka earthquake

54°50′28″N 162°02′06″E / 54.841°N 162.035°E / 54.841; 162.035Max. intensityMMI VII (Very strong) ^[1]

The 1997 Kamchatka earthquake, or 1997 Kronotsky earthquake, occurred on December 5 at 11:26 UTC near the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula.^[2] It was an M_w 7.7 (7.6–7.8) earthquake and was felt with intensity MM V in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy. A 60 cm (23.6 in) tsunami was recorded in Kahului, 47 cm (18.5 in.) in Hilo, and 15 cm (6 in.) in Unalaska. The local tsunami generated by this earthquake affected a mostly unpopulated region. A post-tsunami survey found runup (height above normal sea level) on the Kronotsky Peninsula was no more than a few meters.^[3] However, a later geological survey north of the peninsula, as well as an interview with a park ranger, indicate that runup was up to 8 meters (26 ft) along the coast near the Little and Big Chazhma rivers and north to the Storozh River.^[4]

Deformation during and after this earthquake was measured by GPS.^[5] There were significant foreshocks, and also an apparently independent rupture along the southern border of the primary rupture.^[6]

References

^ National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS) (1972), Significant Earthquake Database (Data Set), National Geophysical Data Center, NOAA, doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K
^ Person, Waverly J. (2010-01-05). "Significant Earthquakes of the World". earthquake.usgs.gov. United States Geological Survey. Archived from the original on 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2011-02-12.
^ Zayakin, Yu. A. and Pinegina, T.K., 1998. Tsunami in Kamchatka on December 5, 1997: p. 257–263 in Gordeev, E.I., Ivanov, B.V. and Vikulin, A.V., eds., 1998. Kronotskoye earthquake of December 5, 1997, on Kamchatka. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky: Kamchatkan State Academy of Fishing Marine, 294p. [in Russian with English abstracts and figure captions].
^ Bourgeois, J., and V.V. Titov, 2001, A Fresh Look at the 1997 Kronosky Tsunami, Trans. European Geophysical Society, Abstracts. Article in preparation.
^ Bürgmann, R., Kogan, M.G., Levin, V.E., Scholz, C.H., King, R.W. and Steblov, G.M., 2001. Rapid aseismic moment release following the 5 December 1997 Kronotsky, Kamchatka, earthquake: Geophys. Res. Lett., v. 28, p. 1331–1334.
^ Slavina, L.B., Pivovarova, N.B. and Levina, V.I., 2007. A study in the velocity structure of December 5, 1997, Mw = 7.8 Kronotskii rupture zone, Kamchatka: : J. Volcanology & Seismology, v. 1, p. 254–262.