Reviewed by USGSRussia32y ago
M3.9 earthquake 59 km NE of Shikotan, Russia
Sunday, March 5, 1995, 18:07:43 UTC · 44.133°N, 147.299°E
A magnitude 3.9 earthquake struck 59 km NE of Shikotan, Russia on Sunday, March 5, 1995, 18:07:43 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 3.9
- Minor · 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
11 tons of TNT
That is about 1/1,410 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 45 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
131 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 5 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.7 on March 11, 1995. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 4.125 km E of Shikotan, Russia31y ago · 40 km SW of this epicenter
- 4.641 km NE of Shikotan, Russia31y ago · 18 km SW of this epicenter
- 4.558 km NE of Shikotan, Russia32y ago · 4 km SE of this epicenter
- 4.799 km ENE of Shikotan, Russia32y ago · 50 km E of this epicenter
- 4.230 km ENE of Shikotan, Russia32y ago · 30 km SW of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 1,403 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 · 192 km NE of this epicenter
- 8.31958 Kuril Islands EarthquakeNovember 6, 1958 · 102 km NE of this epicenter
- 8.348 km E of Shikotan, RussiaOctober 4, 1994 · 40 km S of this epicenter
- 8.21969 Hokkaido Toho-oki EarthquakeAugust 11, 1969 · 84 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.8217 km ESE of Kuril’sk, RussiaOctober 20, 1963 · 266 km E of this epicenter
- 7.719 km ESE of Nemuro, JapanJune 17, 1973 · 158 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.6134 km SE of Kuril’sk, RussiaMarch 24, 1978 · 125 km E of this epicenter
- 7.555 km SE of Kuril’sk, RussiaMarch 23, 1978 · 127 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 45 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 85 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1843M8.4
Hokkaido: Yezo, Kushiro, Nemuro
25 Apr 1843 · 260 km away
45 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1973M7.7
Hokkaido Island
17 Jun 1973 · 159 km away · intensity VIII
27 deaths$5 million damagetsunami
- 1994M8.3
Kuril Islands; Japan: Hokkaido
4 Oct 1994 · 40 km away · intensity IX
11 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1894M7.9
Off Coast Of Honshu
22 Mar 1894 · 210 km away · intensity IX
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1938M6.1
E. Hokkaido Island, Japan
28 May 1938 · 248 km away
1 deathLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1958M8.3
Kuril Islands
6 Nov 1958 · 108 km away · intensity X
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.