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Japan Warned of 9.9 Quake: History's Biggest?
16 Oct
Summary
- A 6.9 magnitude quake near Russia's Kamchatka caused a false 9.9 magnitude alert in Japan.
- The 1960 Chile earthquake, a 9.5 magnitude, remains the largest recorded seismic event.
- A 9.9 magnitude quake could rupture faults up to 5,000 km and alter Earth's rotation.
A recent magnitude 6.9 earthquake near Russia's Kamchatka peninsula caused a brief, erroneous early warning in Japan for a magnitude 9.9 event. This false alert recalled the devastating 1960 Valdivia earthquake in Chile, which registered a magnitude of 9.5 and remains the most powerful quake ever recorded.
Experts suggest a 9.9 magnitude earthquake would be catastrophic, releasing vastly more energy than known megathrust quakes. Such an event would necessitate a fault rupture of up to 5,000 kilometers, causing ground shaking for at least five minutes and potentially leading to significant coastal geographical changes.
Such extreme seismic activity could even cause micro-second shifts in Earth's rotation speed and alter its axial tilt. Japan, situated on the seismically active Pacific Ring of Fire and at the confluence of four major tectonic plates, experiences approximately 1,500 earthquakes annually.
