Reviewed by USGSRussia103y ago
M6.9 earthquake 48 km SW of Shikotan, Russia
Sunday, December 28, 1924, 22:55:12 UTC · 43.494°N, 146.285°E
A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck 48 km SW of Shikotan, Russia on Sunday, December 28, 1924, 22:55:12 UTC, at a depth of 75.0 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.3 on April 5, 1901.
- Magnitude
- 6.9
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 75 km
- Intermediate
- 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
388 kilotons of TNT
That is about 26 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 813 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
122 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: intermediate
75 km
Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.
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 M6.1 on January 3, 1925. 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 16 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.3Kuril IslandsApril 5, 1901 · 244 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.1Off the coast of Hokkaido, JapanDecember 25, 1900 · 60 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.0Kuril IslandsNovember 24, 1900 · 138 km E of this epicenter
- 6.949 km E of Nemuro, JapanOctober 13, 1911 · 14 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.7153 km E of Shikotan, RussiaAugust 6, 1915 · 189 km E of this epicenter
- 6.755 km SW of Shikotan, RussiaDecember 23, 1907 · 7 km S of this epicenter
- 6.67 km SW of Kitami, JapanJuly 5, 1907 · 201 km W of this epicenter
- 6.5126 km SSE of Obihiro, JapanMarch 17, 1915 · 272 km SW 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 46 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1843M8.4
Hokkaido: Yezo, Kushiro, Nemuro
25 Apr 1843 · 168 km away
45 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1894M7.9
Off Coast Of Honshu
22 Mar 1894 · 113 km away · intensity IX
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1904M7.6
Hokkaido
18 Mar 1904 · 117 km away · intensity X
Limited damage (under $1M)
- 1839M7.3
Se. Hokkaido Island, Japan
1 May 1839 · 152 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1900M7.9
Kuril Islands
25 Dec 1900 · 60 km away · intensity IX
- 1896M7.6
Kuril Islands
18 Nov 1896 · 23 km away · intensity IX
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.