Reviewed by USGSRussia21d ago
M4.3 earthquake 169 km E of Kuril’sk, Russia
Saturday, September 5, 2026, 04:50:14 UTC · 44.950°N, 149.993°E
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck 169 km E of Kuril’sk, Russia on Saturday, September 5, 2026, 04:50:14 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.3
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 35 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
43 tons of TNT
That is about 1/354 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 11 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
85 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
35 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 50 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km since this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 2,072 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.51963 Kuril Islands EarthquakeOctober 13, 1963 · 41 km W of this epicenter
- 8.31958 Kuril Islands EarthquakeNovember 6, 1958 · 130 km SW of this epicenter
- 8.348 km E of Shikotan, RussiaOctober 4, 1994 · 249 km SW of this epicenter
- 8.21969 Hokkaido Toho-oki EarthquakeAugust 11, 1969 · 241 km SW of this epicenter
- 8.11918 Kuril Islands EarthquakeSeptember 7, 1918 · 183 km E of this epicenter
- 7.9128 km ESE of Kuril’sk, RussiaDecember 3, 1995 · 63 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.8east of the Kuril IslandsNovember 8, 1918 · 158 km E of this epicenter
- 7.8217 km ESE of Kuril’sk, RussiaOctober 20, 1963 · 50 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 39 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 46 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1918M8.3
Kuril Islands
7 Sep 1918 · 133 km away
23 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1780M7.5
Kuril Islands
29 Jun 1780 · 102 km away
12 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1994M8.3
Kuril Islands; Japan: Hokkaido
4 Oct 1994 · 249 km away · intensity IX
11 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1958M8.3
Kuril Islands
6 Nov 1958 · 124 km away · intensity X
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1969M8.2
Shikotan Island, Kurilskiye
11 Aug 1969 · 224 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1978M7.5
Kuril Islands
6 Dec 1978 · 272 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.