Reviewed by USGSRussia53y ago
M5.4 earthquake 79 km S of Shikotan, Russia
Sunday, July 29, 1973, 14:51:03 UTC · 43.086°N, 146.800°E
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck 79 km S of Shikotan, Russia on Sunday, July 29, 1973, 14:51:03 UTC, at a depth of 52.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.4 on July 15, 1973.
- Magnitude
- 5.4
- Moderate · mb
- Depth
- 52 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
2 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/8 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 4 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
61 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
52 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 6 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.0 on August 9, 1973. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 5.031 km SSE of Shikotan, Russia53y ago · 49 km N of this epicenter
- 4.851 km SSW of Shikotan, Russia53y ago · 43 km NW of this epicenter
- 4.856 km SW of Shikotan, Russia53y ago · 54 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.045 km SSW of Shikotan, Russia53y ago · 50 km NW of this epicenter
- 4.6114 km SE of Shikotan, Russia53y ago · 68 km E of this epicenter
- 4.153 km ENE of Nemuro, Japan53y ago · 63 km NW of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 454 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 · 292 km NE of this epicenter
- 8.31958 Kuril Islands EarthquakeNovember 6, 1958 · 206 km NE of this epicenter
- 8.21969 Hokkaido Toho-oki EarthquakeAugust 11, 1969 · 90 km NE of this epicenter
- 8.11952 Tokachi-Oki EarthquakeMarch 4, 1952 · 262 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.7277 km SSE of Kushiro, JapanMay 3, 1919 · 287 km S of this epicenter
- 7.719 km ESE of Nemuro, JapanJune 17, 1973 · 84 km W of this epicenter
- 7.542 km SSW of Shikotan, RussiaSeptember 11, 1935 · 40 km N of this epicenter
- 7.4170 km ESE of Kuril’sk, RussiaFebruary 21, 1937 · 280 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 31 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 107 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1843M8.4
Hokkaido: Yezo, Kushiro, Nemuro
25 Apr 1843 · 137 km away
45 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1952M8.1
Hokkaido
4 Mar 1952 · 263 km away · intensity IX
33 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1973M7.7
Hokkaido Island
17 Jun 1973 · 82 km away · intensity VIII
27 deaths$5 million damagetsunami
- 1894M7.9
Off Coast Of Honshu
22 Mar 1894 · 92 km away · intensity IX
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1938M6.1
E. Hokkaido Island, Japan
28 May 1938 · 210 km away
1 deathLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1958M8.3
Kuril Islands
6 Nov 1958 · 213 km away · intensity X
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.