Reviewed by USGSRussia30y ago
M3.8 earthquake 70 km SSE of Kuril’sk, Russia
Monday, April 29, 1996, 01:51:39 UTC · 44.613°N, 148.113°E
A magnitude 3.8 earthquake struck 70 km SSE of Kuril’sk, Russia on Monday, April 29, 1996, 01:51:39 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 3.8
- 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
8 tons of TNT
That is about 1/1,992 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 63 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
136 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 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.2 on May 16, 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 1,668 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 · 112 km E of this epicenter
- 8.31958 Kuril Islands EarthquakeNovember 6, 1958 · 33 km SE of this epicenter
- 8.348 km E of Shikotan, RussiaOctober 4, 1994 · 113 km SW of this epicenter
- 8.21969 Hokkaido Toho-oki EarthquakeAugust 11, 1969 · 130 km S of this epicenter
- 7.9128 km ESE of Kuril’sk, RussiaDecember 3, 1995 · 94 km E of this epicenter
- 7.8217 km ESE of Kuril’sk, RussiaOctober 20, 1963 · 193 km E of this epicenter
- 7.719 km ESE of Nemuro, JapanJune 17, 1973 · 241 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.6248 km E of Kuril’sk, RussiaDecember 22, 1991 · 250 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 48 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 74 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1973M7.7
Hokkaido Island
17 Jun 1973 · 243 km away · intensity VIII
27 deaths$5 million damagetsunami
- 1918M8.3
Kuril Islands
7 Sep 1918 · 284 km away
23 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1780M7.5
Kuril Islands
29 Jun 1780 · 255 km away
12 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1994M8.3
Kuril Islands; Japan: Hokkaido
4 Oct 1994 · 113 km away · intensity IX
11 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1894M7.9
Off Coast Of Honshu
22 Mar 1894 · 290 km away · intensity IX
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1958M8.3
Kuril Islands
6 Nov 1958 · 35 km away · intensity X
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.