4.9

M4.9 Earthquake in the Mariana Islands regionAugust 24, 2023

2023-08-24 04:00:29 UTC (2023-08-24) · approx. 2:00 PM UTC+10 local

Felt by 1 person across nearby locations.

MagnitudeM4.9(mww)
Time04:00 UTC2:00 PM UTC+10
Depth10.0 kmshallow crustal
Coordinates21.818°, 145.905°
Felt by1DYFI response· max MMI 1.9
Status✓ Reviewed by USGS· green PAGER
green Alertno significant casualties or damage expected

On August 24, 2023 at 04:00 UTC, a magnitude 4.9 shallow crustal earthquake struck in the Mariana Islands region, at a depth of 10.0 km and coordinates 21.8176°, 145.9048°. The earthquake was reported felt by 1 personacross nearby locations, with a maximum shaking intensity of Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) 1.9 (weak). The USGS PAGER system issued a green alert level for this event, indicating no significant casualties or damage expected. This earthquake was detected by 206 seismic stations with excellent location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 370, placing it among routine seismic activity.

Physical scale: An earthquake of magnitude 4.9 releases seismic energy equivalent to roughly 338 metric tons of TNT. Empirical fault-scaling laws (Wells & Coppersmith, 1994) estimate the subsurface rupture length at approximately 1.4 km — a useful intuition for the size of the slip patch on the fault.

Map showing earthquake epicenter at 21.82°, 145.90°

ShakeMap — predicted shaking intensity

Modeled ground-motion intensity contoured on the Modified Mercalli scale (MMI). Computed by the USGS from the moment-tensor solution and regional ground-motion prediction equations.

USGS ShakeMap intensity contours for the M4.9 earthquake near Mariana Islands region

Source: U.S. Geological Survey ShakeMap. View interactive ShakeMap on USGS

Did You Feel It? — community-reported shaking

Aggregated felt-report intensity from 1 citizen response to the USGS Did You Feel It? system. Each colored zone represents the average MMI from reports in that area.

USGS DYFI community-reported intensity map for the M4.9 earthquake near Mariana Islands region

Source: U.S. Geological Survey Did You Feel It?. View on USGS · submit your own report

Earthquake Details

Magnitude
4.9 mww
Depth
10.0 km
shallow crustal
Location
21.8176°N
145.9048°E
Felt Reports
1
DYFI responses
Intensity (MMI)
1.9
weak
Community Intensity
2.0
CDI from reports

Technical Information

Event ID
us7000kqke
Event Type
earthquake
Status
✓ Reviewed
Significance
370
Stations Used
206
Azimuthal Gap
31.0°
Min Station Distance
6.253°
RMS Residual
0.66 sec
Last Updated
2023-10-28 19:15:36 UTC

Common Questions

How strong was the magnitude 4.9 earthquake in the Mariana Islands region?

The magnitude 4.9 earthquake that struck in the Mariana Islands region on August 24, 2023 at 04:00 UTC had a depth of 10.0 km. It was felt by 1 person with maximum shaking intensity of MMI 1.9 (weak). For context, this was a light earthquake commonly felt near the epicenter.

Where did the earthquake occur?

The earthquake epicenter was located at 21.8176°, 145.9048°, which is in the Mariana Islands region.

Were there aftershocks?

Aftershock activity is monitored continuously by the USGS. Aftershock sequences from magnitude 4.9 earthquakes can continue for several days and gradually diminish over time.

Authoritative source: USGS event page (event ID: us7000kqke). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.

Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2023, August 24, 2023). M4.9 Earthquake in the Mariana Islands regionAugust 24, 2023. Retrieved October 28, 2023 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us7000kqke/