Reviewed by USGSRussia68y ago
M5.9 earthquake 121 km SSE of Kuril’sk, Russia
Friday, November 14, 1958, 05:34:59 UTC · 44.306°N, 148.710°E
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 121 km SSE of Kuril’sk, Russia on Friday, November 14, 1958, 05:34:59 UTC, at a depth of 30.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.1 on November 13, 1958.
- Magnitude
- 5.9
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 30 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
11 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 24 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
81 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Okhotsk and Pacific plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
30 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 75 km
USGS lists 4 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.1 on November 19, 1958. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 175 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.31958 Kuril Islands EarthquakeNovember 6, 1958 · 26 km NW of this epicenter
- 8.11918 Kuril Islands EarthquakeSeptember 7, 1918 · 296 km E of this epicenter
- 7.8east of the Kuril IslandsNovember 8, 1918 · 266 km E of this epicenter
- 7.542 km SSW of Shikotan, RussiaSeptember 11, 1935 · 194 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.4170 km ESE of Kuril’sk, RussiaFebruary 21, 1937 · 83 km E of this epicenter
- 7.3Kuril IslandsApril 5, 1901 · 32 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2159 km ENE of Kuril’sk, RussiaNovember 6, 1908 · 169 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2134 km E of Shikotan, RussiaDecember 21, 1946 · 77 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 16 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 36 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1918M8.3
Kuril Islands
7 Sep 1918 · 257 km away
23 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1780M7.5
Kuril Islands
29 Jun 1780 · 225 km away
12 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1894M7.9
Off Coast Of Honshu
22 Mar 1894 · 297 km away · intensity IX
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1958M8.3
Kuril Islands
6 Nov 1958 · 28 km away · intensity X
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1937M7.6
Kuril Islands
21 Feb 1937 · 59 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)
- 1900M7.9
Kuril Islands
25 Dec 1900 · 262 km away · intensity IX
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.