Reviewed by USGSRussia113y ago
M6.0 earthquake 250 km SSW of Severo-Kuril’sk, Russia
Monday, April 12, 1915, 22:15:18 UTC · 48.500°N, 155.250°E
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck 250 km SSW of Severo-Kuril’sk, Russia on Monday, April 12, 1915, 22:15:18 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.0 on August 1, 1913.
- Magnitude
- 6.0
- 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
15 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 32 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
84 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 100 km
USGS lists 4 M2.5+ earthquakes within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M7.8 on May 1, 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 3 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
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 · 168 km away
- 1913M7.7
Kuril Islands
1 Aug 1913 · 113 km away
- 1737M7.5
Kuril Islands
17 Dec 1737 · 210 km away · intensity IX
tsunami
- 1742M7.5
Kuril Islands
18 Nov 1742 · 256 km away
tsunami
- 1853
Kuril Islands
Nov 1853 · 191 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.