Earthquakes, September-October 1981

There were three major earthquakes (7.0-7.9) during this reporting period. The first and largest was a magnitude 7.7 on September 1 in the Samoa Islands region in the South Pacific. A magnitude 7.2 occurred on October 16 off the coast of central Chile. The third, on October 25 in Michoacan, Mexico, had a magnitude of 7.1. Two earthquakes which caused fatalities were in Kashmir and Venezuela, on September 12 and October 18. They had magnitudes 6.1 and 5.4, respectively. 

In the United States, a number of earthquakes were experienced during the 2 months, but caused only lsight damage. The largest was a magntidue 5.9 on September 4 in southern California.