Macroseismic manifestations of the Okhotsk earthquake of May 24, 2013 in the territory of Moscow

• Published in: Seismic instruments Vol. 50; no. 4; pp. 278 - 289
• Main Authors: Rogozhin, E. A., Zavyalov, A. D., Andreeva, N. V.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Heidelberg Allerton Press 01-10-2014; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Activation; Asphalt; Buildings; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Earthquake construction; Earthquakes; Faults; Geophysics/Geodesy; Landslides; Moscow; Seismic activity; Seismic phenomena; Seismology; Slopes; Tremors; Moscow Russia; Russia; intensity; tremor; crack; fault; earthquake; block; landslide; building
• ISSN: 0747-9239; 1934-7871
• DOI: 10.3103/S0747923914040057

The results of a study of the macroseismic effects in the territory of Moscow of a remote deepfocus earthquake that occurred on May 24, 2013 in the Sea of Okhotsk are reported. On the surface of the earth and on the first floors of the buildings the seismic effect was not felt. The effect of the shock began to manifest itself at levels higher than the fifth floor of the buildings. The distribution of points on the map where the earthquake was felt is non-uniform. Points where tremor was felt do not appear to correspond with certain types of Quaternary deposits or with zones of different depth. There is also no significant correlation of the parts of the surface with high intensities of tremor and areas of ground-water flooding. Comparison between the surface manifestations of the seismic event and the tectonic features and deep structure of the metropolis was made. Based on the results of the implemented statistical estimation of distribution points where the earthquake was felt on the territory of the city it is visible that fault zones govern the largest number of points, while block structures characterize almost half of them. Thus, we can reasonably suggest a certain macroseismic increase of vibrations from earthquakes in the areas of large faults in the city. The study of deformations of the asphalt cover of walkways on the landslide-affected slope of Vorobyovy Hills showed that the tremor caused by the Okhotsk deep focus earthquake of May 24, 2013, caused the activation of a small landslide at all levels of the hillside.