Reviewed by USGSRussia80y ago
M6.3 earthquake 102 km WSW of Kuril’sk, Russia
Friday, October 10, 1947, 07:32:13 UTC · 44.935°N, 146.645°E
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 102 km WSW of Kuril’sk, Russia on Friday, October 10, 1947, 07:32:13 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.1 on April 14, 1947.
- Magnitude
- 6.3
- Strong · 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
49 kilotons of TNT
That is about 3 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 102 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
233 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
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 100 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.9 on October 21, 1947. 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 105 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.542 km SSW of Shikotan, RussiaSeptember 11, 1935 · 168 km S of this epicenter
- 7.4170 km ESE of Kuril’sk, RussiaFebruary 21, 1937 · 250 km E of this epicenter
- 7.3Kuril IslandsApril 5, 1901 · 192 km E of this epicenter
- 7.2159 km ENE of Kuril’sk, RussiaNovember 6, 1908 · 261 km E of this epicenter
- 7.2134 km E of Shikotan, RussiaDecember 21, 1946 · 198 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.1Off the coast of Hokkaido, JapanDecember 25, 1900 · 221 km S of this epicenter
- 7.1147 km E of Kuril’sk, RussiaOctober 18, 1920 · 248 km E of this epicenter
- 7.1142 km E of Shikotan, RussiaApril 14, 1947 · 185 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 14 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1894M7.9
Off Coast Of Honshu
22 Mar 1894 · 276 km away · intensity IX
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1938M6.1
E. Hokkaido Island, Japan
28 May 1938 · 239 km away
1 deathLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1904M7.6
Hokkaido
18 Mar 1904 · 279 km away · intensity X
Limited damage (under $1M)
- 1937M7.6
Kuril Islands
21 Feb 1937 · 223 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)
- 1900M7.9
Kuril Islands
25 Dec 1900 · 221 km away · intensity IX
- 1896M7.6
Kuril Islands
18 Nov 1896 · 168 km away · intensity IX
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.