M7.4 earthquake 26 km S of Shikotan, Russia

Monday, January 29, 1968, 10:19:07 UTC · 43.559°N, 146.702°E

A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck 26 km S of Shikotan, Russia on Monday, January 29, 1968, 10:19:07 UTC, at a depth of 42.9 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M8.5 on October 13, 1963.

Magnitude: 7.4; Major · mw
Depth: 43 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 0; Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking: VII; Very strong (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 200 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

1.8 megatons of TNT

That is about 118 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 3,715 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

108 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

43 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 lists 7 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.5 on February 4, 1968. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 261 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 28 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 80 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1843M8.4
Hokkaido: Yezo, Kushiro, Nemuro
25 Apr 1843 · 183 km away
45 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1952M8.1
Hokkaido
4 Mar 1952 · 280 km away · intensity IX
33 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1894M7.9
Off Coast Of Honshu
22 Mar 1894 · 131 km away · intensity IX
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1938M6.1
E. Hokkaido Island, Japan
28 May 1938 · 194 km away
1 deathLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
1958M8.3
Kuril Islands
6 Nov 1958 · 182 km away · intensity X
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1963M8.5
Kuril Islands
13 Oct 1963 · 281 km away · intensity IX
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

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

Nearby trackers