QuakeScout
Magnitude7.4

Reviewed by USGSRussia111y ago

M7.4 earthquake 156 km SE of Severo-Kuril’sk, Russia

Tuesday, October 31, 1916, 15:31:01 UTC · 49.831°N, 157.886°E

A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck 156 km SE of Severo-Kuril’sk, Russia on Tuesday, October 31, 1916, 15:31:01 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.8 on May 1, 1915.

Magnitude
7.4
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 earthquake

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

1.7 megatons of TNT

That is about 110 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 3,467 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

34 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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the 30 days after this event.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 12 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.8266 km SSW of Severo-Kuril’sk, RussiaMay 1, 1915 · 264 km SW of this epicenter
  2. 7.495 km NNE of Ozernovskiy, RussiaMay 4, 1911 · 270 km N of this epicenter
  3. 7.297 km NNE of Ozernovskiy, RussiaAugust 17, 1907 · 291 km N of this epicenter
  4. 7.0285 km S of Severo-Kuril’sk, RussiaAugust 1, 1913 · 233 km SW of this epicenter
  5. 6.854 km SSE of Vilyuchinsk, RussiaJanuary 20, 1914 · 299 km N of this epicenter
  6. 6.6240 km SSW of Severo-Kuril’sk, RussiaMay 3, 1915 · 231 km SW of this epicenter
  7. 6.557 km ENE of Severo-Kuril’sk, RussiaSeptember 8, 1911 · 140 km NW of this epicenter
  8. 6.3113 km SE of Vilyuchinsk, RussiaNovember 23, 1913 · 279 km NE of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 8 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 100 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1737

    Kamchatka

    16 Oct 1737 · 141 km away

    100 deathstsunami

  2. 1841M8.4

    Off Kamchatka

    17 May 1841 · 241 km away · intensity XI

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  3. 1904M8.3

    Off Kamchatka

    25 Jun 1904 · 254 km away · intensity X

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  4. 1904M8.1

    Off Kamchatka

    25 Jun 1904 · 254 km away · intensity X

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  5. 1904M7.9

    Off Kamchatka

    27 Jun 1904 · 254 km away · intensity IX

  6. 1911M7.6

    Near Kamchatka

    4 May 1911 · 256 km away · intensity VII

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers

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