Reviewed by USGSRussia74y ago
M6.9 earthquake 28 km E of Severo-Kuril’sk, Russia
Friday, September 4, 1953, 07:23:10 UTC · 50.645°N, 156.532°E
A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck 28 km E of Severo-Kuril’sk, Russia on Friday, September 4, 1953, 07:23:10 UTC, at a depth of 56.3 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.9 on November 4, 1952.
- Magnitude
- 6.9
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 56 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: 100 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
315 kilotons of TNT
That is about 21 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 661 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
165 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
56 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 100 km
USGS lists 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.6 on September 23, 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 112 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 · 274 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.495 km NNE of Ozernovskiy, RussiaMay 4, 1911 · 182 km N of this epicenter
- 7.4156 km SE of Severo-Kuril’sk, RussiaOctober 31, 1916 · 132 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.297 km NNE of Ozernovskiy, RussiaAugust 17, 1907 · 191 km N of this epicenter
- 7.0285 km S of Severo-Kuril’sk, RussiaAugust 1, 1913 · 284 km S of this epicenter
- 6.9119 km E of Ozernovskiy, RussiaMarch 24, 1921 · 144 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.9102 km E of Severo-Kuril’sk, RussiaNovember 4, 1952 · 74 km E of this epicenter
- 6.8171 km SSW of Severo-Kuril’sk, RussiaJanuary 5, 1953 · 180 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 11 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 100 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1737
Kamchatka
16 Oct 1737 · 115 km away
100 deathstsunami
- 1841M8.4
Off Kamchatka
17 May 1841 · 182 km away · intensity XI
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1904M8.3
Off Kamchatka
25 Jun 1904 · 228 km away · intensity X
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1904M8.1
Off Kamchatka
25 Jun 1904 · 228 km away · intensity X
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1827
Kamchatka
9 Aug 1827 · 295 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1904M7.9
Off Kamchatka
27 Jun 1904 · 228 km away · intensity IX
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.