Reviewed by USGS113y ago
M6.0 earthquake east of the Kuril Islands
Wednesday, May 12, 1915, 16:25:23 UTC · 47.607°N, 155.192°E
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck east of the Kuril Islands on Wednesday, May 12, 1915, 16:25:23 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.6 on May 3, 1915.
- Magnitude
- 6.0
- 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
14 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 29 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
23 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 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.1 on May 14, 1915. 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 6 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.8266 km SSW of Severo-Kuril’sk, RussiaMay 1, 1915 · 88 km N of this epicenter
- 7.0285 km S of Severo-Kuril’sk, RussiaAugust 1, 1913 · 85 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.6240 km SSW of Severo-Kuril’sk, RussiaMay 3, 1915 · 108 km N of this epicenter
- 6.5Kuril IslandsJanuary 19, 1913 · 286 km W of this epicenter
- 6.3280 km SSW of Severo-Kuril’sk, RussiaMay 2, 1915 · 68 km N of this epicenter
- 6.0250 km SSW of Severo-Kuril’sk, RussiaApril 12, 1915 · 99 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 4 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1915M8.1
Kuril Islands
1 May 1915 · 69 km away
- 1913M7.7
Kuril Islands
1 Aug 1913 · 26 km away
- 1737M7.5
Kuril Islands
17 Dec 1737 · 297 km away · intensity IX
tsunami
- 1853
Kuril Islands
Nov 1853 · 112 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.