17 January Earthquakes

Quchan Earthquake of 17 January 1895, Ms 6.8

The 1895 Quchan earthquake occurred at about 11:30 local time on 17 January. It had an estimated magnitude of 6.8 on the surface wave magnitude scale and a maximum perceived intensity of VIII (Destructive) on the Mercalli intensity scale. It caused severe damage in Quchan County, particularly to the town of Quchan itself and there were an estimated 770 casualties. It was the last in a sequence of major damaging earthquakes that struck the area between 1851 and 1895.

Northridge Earthquake of 17 January 1994, Mw 6.7

At 4:30 am local time, on January 17, 1994, a strong earthquake with magnitude Mw=6.7 struck northwest of Los Angeles. The earthquake occurred on a blind thrust fault, and produced the strongest ground motions ever instrumentally recorded in an urban setting in North America. The maximum acceleration of 1.8g was recorded at Tarzana, about 7 km south of the epicenter. Damage was wide-spread, sections of major freeways collapsed, parking structures and office buildings collapsed, and numerous apartment buildings suffered irreparable damage. More than 40,000 buildings damaged in Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange and San Bernardino Counties. The cost of the severe damages was estimated 20 billion U.S. dollars. According to the USGS’s report, maximum intensities of IX were observed in and near Northridge and in Sherman Oaks. Lesser, but still significant damage occurred at Fillmore, Glendale, Santa Clarita, Santa Monica, Simi Valley and in western and central Los Angeles. The event claimed about 57 people, injured more than 7,000 and left 20,000 people homeless.

Kobe Earthquake of 17 January 1995, Mw 6.9

One century after the 1895 Quchan earthquake and a year after the 1994 Northridge earthquake, another severe damage occurred and Kobe, Japan. The Kobe earthquake hit at 5:46 am local time (20:46 UTC) on Tuesday, January 17, 1995, in the southern part of Hyogo prefecture, west-central Honshu. It lasted about 20 seconds and registered as a moment magnitude 6.9. Its epicentre was the northern part of Awaji Island in the Inland Sea, 20 km off the coast of the port city of Kobe. Due to this earthquake, about 5502 people confirmed killed and 36,896 injured. According to the USGS’s report, over 90 percent of the casualties occurred along the southern coast of Honshu between Kobe and Nishinomiya. At least 28 people were killed by a landslide at Nishinomiya. About 310,000 people were evacuated to temporary shelters. Over 200,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed. Numerous fires, gas and water main breaks and power outages occurred in the epicentral area. Right-lateral surface faulting was observed for 9 kilometers with horizontal displacement of 1.2 to 1.5 meters in the northern part of Awaji-shima. Liquefaction also occurred in the epicentral area.

The most important worldwide earthquakes (M>7) of this day