Reviewed by USGSRussia80y ago
M5.9 earthquake 161 km SE of Kuril’sk, Russia
Thursday, January 9, 1947, 12:16:02 UTC · 44.044°N, 149.062°E
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 161 km SE of Kuril’sk, Russia on Thursday, January 9, 1947, 12:16:02 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.7 on January 3, 1947.
- Magnitude
- 5.9
- Moderate · 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
11 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 23 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
41 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
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 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 130 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.11918 Kuril Islands EarthquakeSeptember 7, 1918 · 279 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.8east of the Kuril IslandsNovember 8, 1918 · 249 km E of this epicenter
- 7.542 km SSW of Shikotan, RussiaSeptember 11, 1935 · 208 km W of this epicenter
- 7.4170 km ESE of Kuril’sk, RussiaFebruary 21, 1937 · 70 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.3Kuril IslandsApril 5, 1901 · 51 km N of this epicenter
- 7.2159 km ENE of Kuril’sk, RussiaNovember 6, 1908 · 184 km N of this epicenter
- 7.2134 km E of Shikotan, RussiaDecember 21, 1946 · 70 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.2268 km SE of Kuril’sk, RussiaMay 22, 1910 · 109 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 12 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 35 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1918M8.3
Kuril Islands
7 Sep 1918 · 251 km away
23 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1780M7.5
Kuril Islands
29 Jun 1780 · 219 km away
12 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1937M7.6
Kuril Islands
21 Feb 1937 · 57 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)
- 1900M7.9
Kuril Islands
25 Dec 1900 · 273 km away · intensity IX
- 1918M7.8
Kuril Islands
8 Nov 1918 · 201 km away
tsunami
- 1896M7.6
Kuril Islands
18 Nov 1896 · 253 km away · intensity IX
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.