Reviewed by USGSRussia34y ago
M4.5 earthquake 255 km E of Kuril’sk, Russia
Wednesday, May 20, 1992, 02:56:13 UTC · 44.895°N, 151.086°E
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 255 km E of Kuril’sk, Russia on Wednesday, May 20, 1992, 02:56:13 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.8 on May 16, 1992.
- Magnitude
- 4.5
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 33 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
85 tons of TNT
That is about 1/178 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 6 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
32 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
33 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 M3.9 on May 23, 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 1,096 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 · 126 km W of this epicenter
- 8.31958 Kuril Islands EarthquakeNovember 6, 1958 · 211 km W of this epicenter
- 8.11918 Kuril Islands EarthquakeSeptember 7, 1918 · 98 km E of this epicenter
- 7.8east of the Kuril IslandsNovember 8, 1918 · 72 km E of this epicenter
- 7.8217 km ESE of Kuril’sk, RussiaOctober 20, 1963 · 46 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.6248 km E of Kuril’sk, RussiaDecember 22, 1991 · 71 km N of this epicenter
- 7.6134 km SE of Kuril’sk, RussiaMarch 24, 1978 · 190 km W of this epicenter
- 7.555 km SE of Kuril’sk, RussiaMarch 23, 1978 · 208 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 30 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 · 75 km away
23 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1780M7.5
Kuril Islands
29 Jun 1780 · 46 km away
12 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1958M8.3
Kuril Islands
6 Nov 1958 · 205 km away · intensity X
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1969M8.2
Shikotan Island, Kurilskiye
11 Aug 1969 · 292 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1963M8.5
Kuril Islands
13 Oct 1963 · 103 km away · intensity IX
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1937M7.6
Kuril Islands
21 Feb 1937 · 140 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.