QuakeScout
Magnitude7.2

Reviewed by USGSRussia119y ago

M7.2 earthquake 159 km ENE of Kuril’sk, Russia

Friday, November 6, 1908, 07:09:30 UTC · 45.599°N, 149.844°E

A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck 159 km ENE of Kuril’sk, Russia on Friday, November 6, 1908, 07:09:30 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.3 on April 5, 1901.

Magnitude
7.2
Major · mw
Depth
15 km
Shallow
Felt reports
0
Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking
—
No ShakeMap
PAGER alert
None
Not issued
Tsunami
No flag
USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquake

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

1.1 megatons of TNT

That is about 70 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 2,213 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

150 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Okhotsk and Pacific plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.

Depth: shallow

15 km

Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.

Did You Feel It?

Where it was felt

No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.

I felt it — report to USGS ↗

USGS PAGER estimate

Who was exposed to shaking

USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.

After the main event

Aftershocks within 200 km

USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the 30 days after this event.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 4 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.3Kuril IslandsApril 5, 1901 · 139 km SW of this epicenter
  2. 7.0Kuril IslandsNovember 24, 1900 · 275 km SW of this epicenter
  3. 6.5east of the Kuril IslandsFebruary 23, 1906 · 211 km SE of this epicenter
  4. 6.5252 km E of Kuril’sk, RussiaMay 3, 1908 · 94 km E of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 4 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 12 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1780M7.5

    Kuril Islands

    29 Jun 1780 · 111 km away

    12 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  2. 1908M7.6

    Kuril Islands

    6 Nov 1908 · 68 km away

  3. 1847M7.5

    Kuril Islands

    21 Jun 1847 · 173 km away

  4. 1901M7.5

    Kuril Islands

    5 Apr 1901 · 159 km away

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers

Closest city pages