Kamchatka quake: How come 8.8 in magnitude but zero casualties?’

The Richter scale is used to measure the strength of an earthquake. Theoretically, the maximum reading that’s possible is 10. The most powerful quake ever recorded was 9.5, which happened in Chile in 1960. The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami for instance, was caused by a quake that measured 9.2 on the Richter scale, and it led to the death of 228,000 people. The 2011 Tohoku quake in Japan measured 9 on the Richter scale – it caused the Fukushima nuclear accident, and led to more than 19,500 deaths. 

On July 30, the Kamchatka peninsula in Russia was hit by an earthquake of magnitude 8.8 – not far behind the deadly quakes of 2004 and 2011. It is the sixth most powerful quake ever recorded. It led to tsunami alerts in a dozen countries. But amazingly, and fortunately, for such a powerful quake, there were zero casualties. 

Kamchatka is on the Circum-Pacific seismic belt or the so-called ‘Ring of Fire,’ and is prone to seismic activity. So how did the region escape such a major earthquake with no casualties? 

Guest: Christina Malyk, special correspondent with Sputnik, based in Moscow. 

Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu 

Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian 

Note: The term ‘Richter scale’ used in the podcast and in the note above is meant to denote the strength of the quake on the moment magnitude scale, and not the Richter scale, which is no longer in use. The Kamchatka quake measured 8.8 on the moment magnitude scale. The term Richter scale remains a familiar one for the public and is frequently used but is technically incorrect.

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