Reviewed by USGSRussia49y ago
M5.4 earthquake 109 km S of Kuril’sk, Russia
Wednesday, April 12, 1978, 01:22:26 UTC · 44.257°N, 148.087°E
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck 109 km S of Kuril’sk, Russia on Wednesday, April 12, 1978, 01:22:26 UTC, at a depth of 87.0 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.8 on April 7, 1978.
- Magnitude
- 5.4
- Moderate · mb
- Depth
- 87 km
- Intermediate
- 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
105 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: intermediate
87 km
Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.
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 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.8 on April 26, 1978. 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 857 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 · 130 km NE of this epicenter
- 8.31958 Kuril Islands EarthquakeNovember 6, 1958 · 40 km NE of this epicenter
- 8.21969 Hokkaido Toho-oki EarthquakeAugust 11, 1969 · 91 km S of this epicenter
- 7.8217 km ESE of Kuril’sk, RussiaOctober 20, 1963 · 202 km E of this epicenter
- 7.719 km ESE of Nemuro, JapanJune 17, 1973 · 217 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.6134 km SE of Kuril’sk, RussiaMarch 24, 1978 · 62 km E of this epicenter
- 7.555 km SE of Kuril’sk, RussiaMarch 23, 1978 · 80 km N of this epicenter
- 7.542 km SSW of Shikotan, RussiaSeptember 11, 1935 · 150 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 42 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 40 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1973M7.7
Hokkaido Island
17 Jun 1973 · 218 km away · intensity VIII
27 deaths$5 million damagetsunami
- 1780M7.5
Kuril Islands
29 Jun 1780 · 272 km away
12 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1894M7.9
Off Coast Of Honshu
22 Mar 1894 · 258 km away · intensity IX
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1958M8.3
Kuril Islands
6 Nov 1958 · 47 km away · intensity X
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1969M8.2
Shikotan Island, Kurilskiye
11 Aug 1969 · 75 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1978M7.5
Kuril Islands
6 Dec 1978 · 125 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.