Reviewed by USGS109y ago
M8.1 earthquake 1918 Kuril Islands Earthquake
Saturday, September 7, 1918, 17:16:27 UTC · 44.998°N, 152.320°E
A magnitude 8.1 earthquake struck 1918 Kuril Islands Earthquake on Saturday, September 7, 1918, 17:16:27 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.
- Magnitude
- 8.1
- Great · mw
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VI
- Strong (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 400 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
21 megatons of TNT
That is about 1,415 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 44,668 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
18 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 400 km
USGS lists 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 400 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.5 on September 14, 1918. 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 10 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.3Kuril IslandsApril 5, 1901 · 268 km W of this epicenter
- 7.2159 km ENE of Kuril’sk, RussiaNovember 6, 1908 · 205 km W of this epicenter
- 7.2268 km SE of Kuril’sk, RussiaMay 22, 1910 · 249 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.5Kuril IslandsJanuary 19, 1913 · 241 km N of this epicenter
- 6.5east of the Kuril IslandsFebruary 23, 1906 · 79 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.5252 km E of Kuril’sk, RussiaMay 3, 1908 · 123 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.4150 km ENE of Kuril’sk, RussiaJune 27, 1915 · 235 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.3192 km E of Kuril’sk, RussiaJune 7, 1915 · 161 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 7 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 · 85 km away
23 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1780M7.5
Kuril Islands
29 Jun 1780 · 94 km away
12 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1913M7.5
Kuril Islands
19 Jan 1913 · 114 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)
- 1918M7.8
Kuril Islands
8 Nov 1918 · 85 km away
tsunami
- 1908M7.6
Kuril Islands
6 Nov 1908 · 182 km away
- 1847M7.5
Kuril Islands
21 Jun 1847 · 114 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.