Reviewed by USGS101y ago
M7.0 earthquake in Kuril Islands
Wednesday, February 16, 1927, 01:35:26 UTC · 46.551°N, 153.581°E
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck in Kuril Islands on Wednesday, February 16, 1927, 01:35:26 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.2 on January 18, 1925.
- Magnitude
- 7.0
- Major · 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: 200 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
529 kilotons of TNT
That is about 35 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,109 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
44 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 200 km
USGS lists 6 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.5 on February 16, 1927. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 6.3east of the Kuril Islands101y ago · 158 km S of this epicenter
- 5.8Kuril Islands101y ago · 154 km N of this epicenter
- 6.0Kuril Islands101y ago · 44 km W of this epicenter
- 6.2east of the Kuril Islands101y ago · 70 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.1east of the Kuril Islands101y ago · 103 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.5Kuril Islands101y ago · 22 km S of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 42 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 · 198 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.8east of the Kuril IslandsNovember 8, 1918 · 228 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.8266 km SSW of Severo-Kuril’sk, RussiaMay 1, 1915 · 231 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2Kuril IslandsJanuary 18, 1925 · 152 km N of this epicenter
- 7.0285 km S of Severo-Kuril’sk, RussiaAugust 1, 1913 · 255 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.9243 km E of Kuril’sk, RussiaDecember 31, 1922 · 233 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.8174 km E of Kuril’sk, RussiaFebruary 20, 1925 · 295 km W of this epicenter
- 6.6east of the Kuril IslandsApril 26, 1922 · 83 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 9 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 · 199 km away
23 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1780M7.5
Kuril Islands
29 Jun 1780 · 231 km away
12 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1913M7.5
Kuril Islands
19 Jan 1913 · 136 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)
- 1922M7.5
Kuril Islands
24 Oct 1922 · 145 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)
- 1915M8.1
Kuril Islands
1 May 1915 · 119 km away
- 1918M7.8
Kuril Islands
8 Nov 1918 · 280 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.