May 17, 1841 Earthquake: Off Kamchatka, Russia
A magnitude 8.4 earthquake struck Off Kamchatka, Russia on May 17, 1841 at 21:30 UTC, 30 km below the surface. It caused a tsunami.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- May 17, 1841
- Time
- 21:30 UTC
- Place
- Off Kamchatka, Russia
- Magnitude
- 8.4 (Mfa)
- Focal depth
- 30 km (19 mi)
- Intensity
- 11 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 52.000° N, 158.000° E
- Country
- Russia
The toll
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
At Petropavlovsk there was a strong earthquake of 15 minutes duration. As many as 50 stove chimneys in government and private buildings fell down; in some houses the stoves were destroyed and window frames fell and were smashed. Aftershocks continued until March 1842. (Ref #413)
Epicenter listings:
52.5N, 159.5E, , depth 30 km, 8.4 Mfa, Intensity X-II (Ref #223)
Near Petropavlovsk (Ref #79)
52N, 158E (Ref #236)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- November 4, 1952, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia
- October 16, 1737, Kamchatka, Russia
- May 4, 1959, Near East Coast of Kamchatka, Russia
- July 29, 2025, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia
- November 13, 1993, Kamchatka, Russia
- June 25, 1904, Off Kamchatka, Russia
- June 25, 1904, Off Kamchatka, Russia
- June 27, 1904, Off Kamchatka, Russia
- June 8, 1993, Kamchatka, Russia
- August 9, 1827, Kamchatka, Russia
- November 24, 1971, Off Kamchatka, Shemya, Russia
- November 23, 1899, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia
- May 4, 1911, Near Kamchatka, Russia
- August 17, 2024, Off Kamchatka, Russia
- November 18, 1742, Kuril Islands, Russia
More
Significant earthquakes of 1841The 1800sRecent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 1829.