Why did Russian mega earthquake not cause more tsunami damage?
Original Article
The massive earthquake that struck Russia this week did not cause more tsunami damage for a few reasons. Researchers concluded that the tsunami was small due to the shallowness of the earthquake and the location of the epicenter. The earthquake, measured at 5.9 magnitude, was shallow at only 10km depth and occurred in an area where the Earth's crust is slowly stretching, which made the shakeup more gentle than violent. The biggest wave, reported in Kamchatka, was only 3.5 meters tall. This is significantly less impressive than the devastating tsunami that occurred following the 2004 quake in Indonesia, which killed more than 220,000 people, the deadliest earthquake in recorded history.
Meta Description
The Russian mega earthquake and its lesser-known sibling, the tsunami, barely made a blip on the international news radar. Learn more about why the tsunami was relatively harmless and how shallow earthquakes can affect tectonics differently.
Keywords
- earthquake
- tsunami
- Russia
- geology
- seismology
