Reviewed by USGSRussia32y ago
M4.6 earthquake 85 km SW of Kuril’sk, Russia
Tuesday, February 21, 1995, 17:21:39 UTC · 44.778°N, 147.002°E
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 85 km SW of Kuril’sk, Russia on Tuesday, February 21, 1995, 17:21:39 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.8 on February 19, 1995.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- 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
120 tons of TNT
That is about 1/126 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 4 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
202 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: 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 M4.5 on February 28, 1995. 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 1,383 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 · 196 km E of this epicenter
- 8.31958 Kuril Islands EarthquakeNovember 6, 1958 · 122 km E of this epicenter
- 8.348 km E of Shikotan, RussiaOctober 4, 1994 · 115 km S of this epicenter
- 8.21969 Hokkaido Toho-oki EarthquakeAugust 11, 1969 · 159 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.8217 km ESE of Kuril’sk, RussiaOctober 20, 1963 · 280 km E of this epicenter
- 7.719 km ESE of Nemuro, JapanJune 17, 1973 · 197 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.6134 km SE of Kuril’sk, RussiaMarch 24, 1978 · 159 km E of this epicenter
- 7.555 km SE of Kuril’sk, RussiaMarch 23, 1978 · 115 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 46 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 · 200 km away · intensity VIII
27 deaths$5 million damagetsunami
- 1994M8.3
Kuril Islands; Japan: Hokkaido
4 Oct 1994 · 115 km away · intensity IX
11 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1894M7.9
Off Coast Of Honshu
22 Mar 1894 · 266 km away · intensity IX
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1938M6.1
E. Hokkaido Island, Japan
28 May 1938 · 252 km away
1 deathLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1958M8.3
Kuril Islands
6 Nov 1958 · 125 km away · intensity X
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1969M8.2
Shikotan Island, Kurilskiye
11 Aug 1969 · 149 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.