Reviewed by USGSRussia90y ago
M5.7 earthquake 198 km E of Shikotan, Russia
Monday, February 22, 1937, 00:19:43 UTC · 43.618°N, 149.177°E
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck 198 km E of Shikotan, Russia on Monday, February 22, 1937, 00:19:43 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.1 on February 21, 1937.
- Magnitude
- 5.7
- 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
5 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/3 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 9 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
3 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 lists 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.1 on February 22, 1937. 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 87 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 · 293 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.8east of the Kuril IslandsNovember 8, 1918 · 262 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.542 km SSW of Shikotan, RussiaSeptember 11, 1935 · 207 km W of this epicenter
- 7.4170 km ESE of Kuril’sk, RussiaFebruary 21, 1937 · 102 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.3Kuril IslandsApril 5, 1901 · 99 km N of this epicenter
- 7.2159 km ENE of Kuril’sk, RussiaNovember 6, 1908 · 227 km N of this epicenter
- 7.2268 km SE of Kuril’sk, RussiaMay 22, 1910 · 78 km E of this epicenter
- 7.1Off the coast of Hokkaido, JapanDecember 25, 1900 · 266 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 13 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 · 279 km away
23 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1780M7.5
Kuril Islands
29 Jun 1780 · 246 km away
12 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1894M7.9
Off Coast Of Honshu
22 Mar 1894 · 286 km away · intensity IX
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1937M7.6
Kuril Islands
21 Feb 1937 · 100 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)
- 1900M7.9
Kuril Islands
25 Dec 1900 · 266 km away · intensity IX
- 1918M7.8
Kuril Islands
8 Nov 1918 · 210 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.