Reviewed by USGSRussia48y ago
M5.0 earthquake 165 km SE of Kuril’sk, Russia
Saturday, June 17, 1978, 10:30:54 UTC · 44.087°N, 149.220°E
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 165 km SE of Kuril’sk, Russia on Saturday, June 17, 1978, 10:30:54 UTC, at a depth of 37.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.6 on June 15, 1978.
- Magnitude
- 5.0
- Moderate · mb
- Depth
- 37 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
477 tons of TNT
That is about 1/32 of the Hiroshima bomb. Each whole step in magnitude is about 32 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
38 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
37 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 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.9 on June 27, 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 869 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 · 90 km N of this epicenter
- 8.31958 Kuril Islands EarthquakeNovember 6, 1958 · 73 km NW of this epicenter
- 8.21969 Hokkaido Toho-oki EarthquakeAugust 11, 1969 · 134 km SW of this epicenter
- 8.11918 Kuril Islands EarthquakeSeptember 7, 1918 · 266 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.8east of the Kuril IslandsNovember 8, 1918 · 235 km E of this epicenter
- 7.8217 km ESE of Kuril’sk, RussiaOctober 20, 1963 · 127 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.719 km ESE of Nemuro, JapanJune 17, 1973 · 292 km W of this epicenter
- 7.6134 km SE of Kuril’sk, RussiaMarch 24, 1978 · 33 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 38 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 62 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1973M7.7
Hokkaido Island
17 Jun 1973 · 292 km away · intensity VIII
27 deaths$5 million damagetsunami
- 1918M8.3
Kuril Islands
7 Sep 1918 · 239 km away
23 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1780M7.5
Kuril Islands
29 Jun 1780 · 207 km away
12 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1958M8.3
Kuril Islands
6 Nov 1958 · 73 km away · intensity X
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1969M8.2
Shikotan Island, Kurilskiye
11 Aug 1969 · 119 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1978M7.5
Kuril Islands
6 Dec 1978 · 217 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.