Reviewed by USGSRussia34y ago
M5.6 earthquake 195 km ESE of Kuril’sk, Russia
Friday, July 17, 1992, 04:19:28 UTC · 44.809°N, 150.286°E
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 195 km ESE of Kuril’sk, Russia on Friday, July 17, 1992, 04:19:28 UTC, at a depth of 18.9 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.7 on July 12, 1992.
- Magnitude
- 5.6
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 19 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
4 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/4 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 8 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
59 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
19 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 5 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.9 on August 5, 1992. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 4.8189 km E of Kuril’sk, Russia34y ago · 30 km N of this epicenter
- 4.9192 km E of Kuril’sk, Russia34y ago · 56 km N of this epicenter
- 4.7142 km ESE of Kuril’sk, Russia34y ago · 55 km W of this epicenter
- 4.2166 km ESE of Kuril’sk, Russia34y ago · 62 km SW of this epicenter
- 4.9164 km SE of Kuril’sk, Russia34y ago · 74 km SW of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 1,239 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 · 64 km W of this epicenter
- 8.31958 Kuril Islands EarthquakeNovember 6, 1958 · 147 km W of this epicenter
- 8.21969 Hokkaido Toho-oki EarthquakeAugust 11, 1969 · 249 km SW of this epicenter
- 8.11918 Kuril Islands EarthquakeSeptember 7, 1918 · 162 km E of this epicenter
- 7.8east of the Kuril IslandsNovember 8, 1918 · 135 km E of this epicenter
- 7.8217 km ESE of Kuril’sk, RussiaOctober 20, 1963 · 23 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.6248 km E of Kuril’sk, RussiaDecember 22, 1991 · 99 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.6134 km SE of Kuril’sk, RussiaMarch 24, 1978 · 129 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 35 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 · 122 km away
23 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1780M7.5
Kuril Islands
29 Jun 1780 · 90 km away
12 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1958M8.3
Kuril Islands
6 Nov 1958 · 142 km away · intensity X
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1969M8.2
Shikotan Island, Kurilskiye
11 Aug 1969 · 233 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1978M7.5
Kuril Islands
6 Dec 1978 · 294 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1963M8.5
Kuril Islands
13 Oct 1963 · 39 km away · intensity IX
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.