1997 Kamchatka earthquake

1997 Kamchatka earthquake

Date	December 5, 1997
Origin time	11:26 UTC
Magnitude	Mw 7.7
Depth	33 km
Epicenter	54°50′28″N 162°02′06″E / 54.841°N 162.035°ECoordinates: 54°50′28″N 162°02′06″E / 54.841°N 162.035°E

The 1997 Kamchatka earthquake, or 1997 Kronotsky earthquake, occurred on December 5 at 11:26 UTC near the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula.^[1] It is 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.^[2] 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.^[3]

Deformation during and after this earthquake was measured by GPS.^[4] There were significant foreshocks, and also an apparently independent rupture along the southern border of the primary rupture.^[5]

References

1. Person, Waverly J. (2010-01-05). "Significant Earthquakes of the World". earthquake.usgs.gov. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2011-02-12.
2. 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].
3. Bourgeois, J., and V.V. Titov, 2001, A Fresh Look at the 1997 Kronosky Tsunami, Trans. European Geophysical Society, Abstracts. Article in preparation.
4. 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.
5. 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.