Reviewed by USGSRussia112y ago
M6.3 earthquake 251 km SSW of Severo-Kuril’sk, Russia
Friday, May 14, 1915, 06:41:00 UTC · 48.537°N, 155.005°E
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 251 km SSW of Severo-Kuril’sk, Russia on Friday, May 14, 1915, 06:41:00 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
- 6.3
- Strong · 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
38 kilotons of TNT
That is about 3 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 80 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
100 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: 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 100 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 8 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 · 16 km S of this epicenter
- 7.0285 km S of Severo-Kuril’sk, RussiaAugust 1, 1913 · 91 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.6240 km SSW of Severo-Kuril’sk, RussiaMay 3, 1915 · 27 km E of this epicenter
- 6.5232 km WSW of Severo-Kuril’sk, RussiaJuly 13, 1909 · 244 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.557 km ENE of Severo-Kuril’sk, RussiaSeptember 8, 1911 · 295 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.3280 km SSW of Severo-Kuril’sk, RussiaMay 2, 1915 · 39 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.0250 km SSW of Severo-Kuril’sk, RussiaApril 12, 1915 · 19 km E of this epicenter
- 6.0east of the Kuril IslandsMay 12, 1915 · 104 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 5 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1915M8.1
Kuril Islands
1 May 1915 · 171 km away
- 1913M7.7
Kuril Islands
1 Aug 1913 · 121 km away
- 1737M7.5
Kuril Islands
17 Dec 1737 · 218 km away · intensity IX
tsunami
- 1742M7.5
Kuril Islands
18 Nov 1742 · 261 km away
tsunami
- 1853
Kuril Islands
Nov 1853 · 187 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.