Reviewed by USGSRussia30y ago
M3.9 earthquake 132 km SE of Kuril’sk, Russia
Friday, April 12, 1996, 16:01:30 UTC · 44.326°N, 148.971°E
A magnitude 3.9 earthquake struck 132 km SE of Kuril’sk, Russia on Friday, April 12, 1996, 16:01:30 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
71 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
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 6 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.5 on April 15, 1996. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 4.3128 km ESE of Kuril’sk, Russia30y ago · 50 km NE of this epicenter
- 3.9143 km SSE of Kuril’sk, Russia30y ago · 28 km SW of this epicenter
- 4.1144 km SE of Kuril’sk, Russia30y ago · 16 km S of this epicenter
- 3.8158 km SE of Kuril’sk, Russia30y ago · 30 km S of this epicenter
- 4.2149 km SE of Kuril’sk, Russia30y ago · 19 km S of this epicenter
- 4.5156 km SE of Kuril’sk, Russia30y ago · 24 km SE of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 1,687 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 · 73 km NE of this epicenter
- 8.31958 Kuril Islands EarthquakeNovember 6, 1958 · 42 km NW of this epicenter
- 8.348 km E of Shikotan, RussiaOctober 4, 1994 · 145 km SW of this epicenter
- 8.21969 Hokkaido Toho-oki EarthquakeAugust 11, 1969 · 135 km SW of this epicenter
- 8.11918 Kuril Islands EarthquakeSeptember 7, 1918 · 275 km E of this epicenter
- 7.9128 km ESE of Kuril’sk, RussiaDecember 3, 1995 · 46 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.8east of the Kuril IslandsNovember 8, 1918 · 246 km E of this epicenter
- 7.8217 km ESE of Kuril’sk, RussiaOctober 20, 1963 · 133 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 44 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 73 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1973M7.7
Hokkaido Island
17 Jun 1973 · 284 km away · intensity VIII
27 deaths$5 million damagetsunami
- 1918M8.3
Kuril Islands
7 Sep 1918 · 238 km away
23 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1780M7.5
Kuril Islands
29 Jun 1780 · 206 km away
12 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1994M8.3
Kuril Islands; Japan: Hokkaido
4 Oct 1994 · 145 km away · intensity IX
11 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1958M8.3
Kuril Islands
6 Nov 1958 · 41 km away · intensity X
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1969M8.2
Shikotan Island, Kurilskiye
11 Aug 1969 · 118 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.