Reviewed by USGSRussia30y ago
M3.7 earthquake 85 km S of Kuril’sk, Russia
Saturday, March 23, 1996, 07:24:00 UTC · 44.462°N, 147.759°E
A magnitude 3.7 earthquake struck 85 km S of Kuril’sk, Russia on Saturday, March 23, 1996, 07:24:00 UTC, at a depth of 115.9 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 3.7
- Minor · mb
- Depth
- 116 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
5 tons of TNT
That is about 1/2,814 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 89 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
139 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
116 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 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.7 on April 7, 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 1,599 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 · 144 km E of this epicenter
- 8.31958 Kuril Islands EarthquakeNovember 6, 1958 · 58 km E of this epicenter
- 8.348 km E of Shikotan, RussiaOctober 4, 1994 · 84 km SW of this epicenter
- 8.21969 Hokkaido Toho-oki EarthquakeAugust 11, 1969 · 111 km S of this epicenter
- 7.9128 km ESE of Kuril’sk, RussiaDecember 3, 1995 · 124 km E of this epicenter
- 7.8217 km ESE of Kuril’sk, RussiaOctober 20, 1963 · 223 km E of this epicenter
- 7.719 km ESE of Nemuro, JapanJune 17, 1973 · 209 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.6248 km E of Kuril’sk, RussiaDecember 22, 1991 · 283 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 49 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 52 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1973M7.7
Hokkaido Island
17 Jun 1973 · 211 km away · intensity VIII
27 deaths$5 million damagetsunami
- 1780M7.5
Kuril Islands
29 Jun 1780 · 287 km away
12 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1994M8.3
Kuril Islands; Japan: Hokkaido
4 Oct 1994 · 84 km away · intensity IX
11 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1894M7.9
Off Coast Of Honshu
22 Mar 1894 · 260 km away · intensity IX
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1938M6.1
E. Hokkaido Island, Japan
28 May 1938 · 293 km away
1 deathLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1958M8.3
Kuril Islands
6 Nov 1958 · 62 km away · intensity X
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.