Reviewed by USGSRussia34y ago
M4.9 earthquake 290 km E of Kuril’sk, Russia
Thursday, May 14, 1992, 23:28:31 UTC · 45.655°N, 151.535°E
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 290 km E of Kuril’sk, Russia on Thursday, May 14, 1992, 23:28:31 UTC, at a depth of 27.3 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.9 on May 8, 1992.
- Magnitude
- 4.9
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 27 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: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
338 tons of TNT
That is about 1/45 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 1 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
77 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
27 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 lists 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.4 on June 1, 1992. 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 1,047 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 · 183 km SW of this epicenter
- 8.31958 Kuril Islands EarthquakeNovember 6, 1958 · 273 km SW of this epicenter
- 8.11918 Kuril Islands EarthquakeSeptember 7, 1918 · 95 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.8east of the Kuril IslandsNovember 8, 1918 · 98 km S of this epicenter
- 7.8217 km ESE of Kuril’sk, RussiaOctober 20, 1963 · 129 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.7east of the Kuril IslandsMarch 16, 1963 · 273 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.6248 km E of Kuril’sk, RussiaDecember 22, 1991 · 42 km W of this epicenter
- 7.6134 km SE of Kuril’sk, RussiaMarch 24, 1978 · 262 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 29 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 35 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1918M8.3
Kuril Islands
7 Sep 1918 · 17 km away
23 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1780M7.5
Kuril Islands
29 Jun 1780 · 47 km away
12 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1958M8.3
Kuril Islands
6 Nov 1958 · 266 km away · intensity X
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1963M8.5
Kuril Islands
13 Oct 1963 · 168 km away · intensity IX
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1937M7.6
Kuril Islands
21 Feb 1937 · 211 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)
- 1913M7.5
Kuril Islands
19 Jan 1913 · 53 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.