Reviewed by USGSRussia74y ago
M5.9 earthquake 217 km S of Severo-Kuril’sk, Russia
Tuesday, March 3, 1953, 22:54:06 UTC · 48.754°N, 155.551°E
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 217 km S of Severo-Kuril’sk, Russia on Tuesday, March 3, 1953, 22:54:06 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.3 on February 7, 1953.
- Magnitude
- 5.9
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 35 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
12 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 26 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
86 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
35 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 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.5 on March 5, 1953. 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 108 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.8266 km SSW of Severo-Kuril’sk, RussiaMay 1, 1915 · 57 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.4156 km SE of Severo-Kuril’sk, RussiaOctober 31, 1916 · 207 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2Kuril IslandsJanuary 18, 1925 · 163 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.0285 km S of Severo-Kuril’sk, RussiaAugust 1, 1913 · 81 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.0Kuril IslandsFebruary 16, 1927 · 286 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.0Kuril IslandsNovember 6, 1951 · 197 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.9102 km E of Severo-Kuril’sk, RussiaNovember 4, 1952 · 255 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.8171 km SSW of Severo-Kuril’sk, RussiaJanuary 5, 1953 · 51 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 7 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1915M8.1
Kuril Islands
1 May 1915 · 199 km away
- 1913M7.7
Kuril Islands
1 Aug 1913 · 139 km away
- 1929M7.7
Kuril Islands
13 Jan 1929 · 128 km away · intensity VII
- 1737M7.5
Kuril Islands
17 Dec 1737 · 174 km away · intensity IX
tsunami
- 1742M7.5
Kuril Islands
18 Nov 1742 · 220 km away
tsunami
- 1953M5.8
Kuril Islands
17 Mar 1953 · 155 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.