Individual Event Report
Event #526 - Summary, and parameter estimates with source IDs |
The BSSA is the source for catalog entries. It gives this information: "... from C.H. Aldrich of Corfu ... 'The first shock was on November 1st, between 9:15 and 9:30 a.m. This was the most severe and lasted several seconds; it shook goods from the shelves and caused landslides for several miles along the hills. We have had on an average about three shocks every twenty-four hours since, but lighter.'..." The WPPSS documents add: "The November 1, 1918 Corfu earthquake had an epicentral intensity of (MM) V-VI, based on intensity reports from the town of Corfu, Washington, and on reported landslides in the vicinity of Corfu. Based on the seismograph record at the Gonzaga University station (SPO) in Spokane, Washington, it is estimated that this earthquake had a magnitude (MS) of approximately 4.4." A search for additional newspaper accounts from eastern Washington newspapers was fruitless. The local earthquake was overwhelmed by the influenza epidemic, the end of World War I, and the impending famine in Russia. |
TIME |
LOCATION |
MAGNITUDE |
MAX. INTENSITY |
FELT AREA |
YR |
MO |
DAY |
HR |
MIN |
AM/PM |
Time Type |
LAT(N) |
LON(W) |
DEP (km) |
MAG |
Mag Type |
Felt Plc. |
Felt St. |
Inten- sity |
Int. Type |
Felt Area |
Felt Area Int. |
Felt Area Units |
1918 |
11 |
1 |
9 |
20 |
A |
P |
46.70 |
119.50 |
|
4.40 |
Inst |
Corfu |
WA |
VI |
RF |
|
|
|
TAWA - 1161 |
USEQS - 954 |
- |
WPPSS - 2355 |
TAWA - 1161 |
- |
Underlying Source Material
Source ID |
Publication |
Pub Date |
Pub Details |
2179 |
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America |
1918 |
V. 8, p. 138 |
Transcription: Corfu, Wash., November 1, 1918. - A. M. Jung, seismological observer at Gonzaga University at Spokane, Wash. communicates the following note from C.H. Aldrich of Corfu, a station on the Chicago, Milwaukee Railway 135 miles west of Spokane, in regard to an earthquake at that place: " The first shock was on November 1st, between 9:15 and 9:30 a.m. This was the most severe and lasted several seconds; it shook goods from the shelves and caused landslides for several miles along the hills. We have had on an average about three shocks every twenty-four hours since, but lighter." The intensity is estimated at IV of the R.-F. scale. |
|
Source ID |
Publication |
Pub Date |
Pub Details |
1013 |
U. S. Dept. of Commerce, 1973, Earthquake History of the United States, V. 41-1, revised ed., pp. 89-96 |
1973 |
|
Transcription: 1918. November 1. Corfu, Wash. Strong tremor shook articles from shelves and caused landslides. |
|
Source ID |
Publication |
Pub Date |
Pub Details |
954 |
U. S. Dept. of Commerce, 1973, Earthquake History of the United States, V. 41-1, revised ed., pp. 89-96 |
1973 |
|
Transcription: Nov. 1 09:20 Corfu, Wash 46.7 119.5 (2) V-VI 3-8 |
|
Source ID |
Publication |
Pub Date |
Pub Details |
2387 |
Washington Public Power Supply System, Preliminary Safety Analysis Report, Ammendment 23, WPPSS Nuclear Project No. 1, 1300 MW Nuclear Power Plant, Vol. 2A. |
1977 |
Table 2R E-9 |
Transcription: 75 1918 Nov 1 46.70N., 119.50W. V-Vi |
|
Source ID |
Publication |
Pub Date |
Pub Details |
148 |
Rasmussen, Norman, 1967, Washington state earthquakes 1840 through 1965, BSSA V. 57, No. 3, pp. 463-476 |
1967 |
|
Transcription: 148 1918 Nov. 1 17:20 46.7 N, 119.5 W V-VI 1 |
|
Source ID |
Publication |
Pub Date |
Pub Details |
1832 |
Woodward Clyde Consultants, unpublished |
1981 |
Woodward-Clyde Consultants (1981), Historical Catalog (1841-1980) for the Pacific Northwest Region, unpublished catalog prepared for the Washington Public Power Supply System. Copy provided to UW in 1993. |
Transcription: 191811 11720000 46700-119500 VI NO 6 01 |
|
Source ID |
Publication |
Pub Date |
Pub Details |
1161 |
Townley, S. D. and M. W. Allen, 1939, Descriptive Catalog of Earthquakes of the Pacific Coast of the United States 1769-1928, Chap. III Earthquakes in Washington, 1883-1928, BSSA, V. 29, No. 1, pp. 259-268 |
1939 |
|
Transcription: 1918 November 1. About 9:20 a.m. VI+? Corfu, Grant Co. Severe shock; goods shaken from shelves; slides caused along the hills for miles; several lighter shocks each day for several days.-BSSA, 8, 138. |
|
Source ID |
Publication |
Pub Date |
Pub Details |
2355 |
Washington Public Power Supply System, "WPPSS Nuclear Project No. 2, Final Safety Analysis Report, Volume 1, Amendment 18" September 1981 |
1981 |
p. 2.5-120 |
Transcription: (RSL comment: this material is extracted from the "WPPSS Nuclear Project No. 2, Final Safety Analysis Report, Volume 1, Amendment 18" September 1981, Washington Public Power Supply System p. 2.5-120)
The November 1, 1918 Corfu earthquake had an epicentral intensity of (MM) V-VI, based on intensity reports from the town of Corfu, Washington, and on reported landslides in the vicinity of Corfu. Based on the seismograph record at the Gonzaga University station (SPO) in Spokane, Washington, it is estimated that this earthquake had a magnitude (MS) of approximately 4.4.
The Corfu earthquake and aftershock sequence was reported in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (1918):
The first shock was on November Ist, between 9:15 and 9:30 a.m. This was the most severe and lasted several seconds; it shook goods from the shelves and caused landslides for several miles along the hills. We have had on an average about three shocks every twenty-four hours since, but lighter. The intensity is estimated at IV of the RF Scale.
Bingham et al. (1970) refer to a landslide east of Smyrna Bench, which they attribute to the Corfu earthquake, but it was not investigated in detail in their field studies.
Fifer (1966) gathered reports that suggests maximum intensity (MM) IV at White Bluffs which is located 26 km northwest of the present plant site and 16 km south of Corfu. The White Bluffs felt reports indicate that the epicenter was probably close to the town of Corfu. This further suggests that the site intensity was likely to be less than (MM) IV.
The intensity data are shown in Figure 2.5-43 along with an arc corresponding to the S-P time of 21.7 seconds measured from the SPO record of the event. An uncertainty of approximately 1 second or 8 km is noted for the S-P time. Based on these data, the most likely location for the 1918 event is considered to be sligntly east of Corfu, within the central portion of the epicentral region shown in Figure 2.5-43. The coordinates for this point are listed in Table 2.5-5. The 1918 Corfu earthquake is similar in location to the December 20, 1973, Mc 4.4 Royal Slope Event, as discussed in Appendix 2.5J. The Royal Slope Event had a focal depth of 2.1 km (Malone, 1979), a maximum intensity of (MM) V, and was felt to a distance of 30 km (Appendix 2.5I). |
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