Maryland Geological Survey	Maryland Seismic Network
IRIS Educational Materials	contact: Jim Reger (jreger@mgs.md.gov)

		Education & Outreach Series	No. 4
		Seismic Events of Special Interest
		Over the past ten years, more than 68,000 intermediate and large scale seismic events were recorded and located by the US Geological Survey. Although most of these events had little impact on our lives, over geological time scales, they help shape our landscape.     The list below highlights some recent seismic events of special interest. These events are among those that force noticeable geologic changes to our landscape or cause devastating destruction to our society. The Seismic Monitor
IRIS is a university research consortium dedicated to monitoring the Earth and exploring its interior through the collection and distribution of geophysical data.
IRIS programs contribute to scholarly research, education, earthquake hazard mitigation, and the verification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
		Event Magnitude Geologic Changes Destruction 1 Northern Iran May-June, 1997 7.3 Landslides - Rare sequence of large earthquakes 1,567 killed - 2,300 injured - 50,000 homeless - Extensive damage 2  Windward Islands April,199 6.7 One of the largest known earthquakes in or near Trinidad and Tobago none reported 3  S. Xinjiang Province, China July, 1996 5.2 Nuclear weapons test none reported 4  Sakhalin Island May, 1995 7.5 none noted 1,989 killed - 750 injured 5  Kobe, Japan January, 1995 6.8 Surface faulting for 9 km with horizontal displacement of 1.2 to 1.5 meters - Soil liquefaction 5,502 killed - 36,896 injured - 310,000 homeless - Severe damage 6  Kuril Islands October, 1994 8.3 Tsunami with heights up to 346 cm 10 killed or missing - Extensive damage throughout islands 7  Northern Bolivia June, 1994 8.2 At 637 km depth, the largest deep earthquake - First earthquake from this part of S. America to have been felt in N. America including Canada Several people killed 8  Northridge, CA January, 1994 6.8 A maximum uplift of 15 cm occurred in Santa Susana Mountains - Many rock slides - Ground cracks - Soil Liquefaction 60 killed - 7,000 injured - 20,000 homeless - Severe damage 9  Southern India September, 1993 6.3 Large intraplate earthquake 9,748 killed - 30,000 injured - Extreme devastation 10  Republic of South Africa May, 1993 3.8 Mine collapse Several people killed 11  Flores Region December, 1992 7.5 Tsunami run-up of 300 meters with wave heights of 25 meters on Flores - Landslides - Ground cracks 2,200 killed or missing 12  Switzerland November, 1992 3.7 Accidental explosion of a munitions cavern 6 killed 13  Northern Colombia October, 1992 7.3 Explosion of a mud volcano - Landslides - Soil liquefaction - Small island emerged from the Caribbean Sea off San Juan de Uraba 10 killed - 65 injured - 1,500 homeless 14  Landers, CA June, 1992 7.6 Surface faulting along a 70-kilometer segment with up to 5.5 meters of horizontal displacement and 1.8 meters of vertical displacement. 1 killed - 400 injured - Substantial damage 15   Northern India October, 1991 7.0 2 events 1.6 seconds apart - Landslides - 30 meter deep crack 2,000 killed - 1,800 injured -18,000 buildings were destroyed 16  Luzon, Philippines July, 1990 w 7.8 Landslides - Soil liquefaction - Surface faulting 1,621 killed - 3,000 injured - Severe damage 17  Western Iran June, 1990 7.7 Landslides 40,000 -50,000 killed - 60,000 injured - 400,000+ homeless - Extensive damage        18  Loma Prieta, CA October, 1989 7.1 Maximum intensity in parts of Oakland and San Francisco - Landslides - Soil liquefaction - Small Tsunami at Monterey 60 killed - 3,757 injured - 5.6 billion US dollars in damage 19   Macquarie Islands May, 1989 8.2 Small Tsunami along coasts of Tasmania and in Australia - Largest oceanic earthquake ever recorded none reported 20  Turkey-USSR Border December, 1988 6.8 Surface faulting 10 km in length with a maximum throw of 1.5 meters 25,000 killed - 19,000 injured - 500,000 homeless - $6.2 billion damage
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This figure was produced in cooperation with the University of Arizona, Brown University, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Purdue University, and the US Geological Survey.
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This educational material is reproduced with permission from the IRIS Consortium. This page was adapted for the web by Bob Conkwright , from an Adobe Acrobat PDF document created by the IRIS Consortium.
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