Reviewed by USGSRussia31y ago
M4.0 earthquake 162 km NE of Kuril’sk, Russia
Saturday, January 13, 1996, 06:44:15 UTC · 46.084°N, 149.571°E
A magnitude 4.0 earthquake struck 162 km NE of Kuril’sk, Russia on Saturday, January 13, 1996, 06:44:15 UTC, at a depth of 150.0 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 4.0
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 150 km
- Intermediate
- 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
15 tons of TNT
That is about 1/998 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 32 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
206 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: intermediate
150 km
Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.
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 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M3.9 on February 5, 1996. 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 1,256 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 · 135 km S of this epicenter
- 8.31958 Kuril Islands EarthquakeNovember 6, 1958 · 198 km SW of this epicenter
- 8.11918 Kuril Islands EarthquakeSeptember 7, 1918 · 246 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.9128 km ESE of Kuril’sk, RussiaDecember 3, 1995 · 159 km S of this epicenter
- 7.8east of the Kuril IslandsNovember 8, 1918 · 235 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.8217 km ESE of Kuril’sk, RussiaOctober 20, 1963 · 169 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.6248 km E of Kuril’sk, RussiaDecember 22, 1991 · 128 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.6134 km SE of Kuril’sk, RussiaMarch 24, 1978 · 212 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 32 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 · 163 km away
23 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1780M7.5
Kuril Islands
29 Jun 1780 · 154 km away
12 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1958M8.3
Kuril Islands
6 Nov 1958 · 191 km away · intensity X
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1978M7.5
Kuril Islands
6 Dec 1978 · 287 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1963M8.5
Kuril Islands
13 Oct 1963 · 147 km away · intensity IX
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1937M7.6
Kuril Islands
21 Feb 1937 · 177 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.