Reviewed by USGSRussia30y ago
M6.2 earthquake 72 km E of Shikotan, Russia
Tuesday, May 7, 1996, 23:20:00 UTC · 43.708°N, 147.607°E
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck 72 km E of Shikotan, Russia on Tuesday, May 7, 1996, 23:20:00 UTC, at a depth of 53.9 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.3 on February 22, 1996.
- Magnitude
- 6.2
- Strong · mwb
- Depth
- 54 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: 100 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
30 kilotons of TNT
That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 63 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
79 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
54 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 100 km
USGS lists 5 M2.5+ earthquakes within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.3 on June 6, 1996. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 4.377 km ENE of Shikotan, Russia30y ago · 29 km N of this epicenter
- 3.585 km S of Kuril’sk, Russia30y ago · 91 km N of this epicenter
- 3.952 km E of Shikotan, Russia30y ago · 20 km W of this epicenter
- 4.133 km ESE of Shikotan, Russia30y ago · 40 km W of this epicenter
- 3.780 km SE of Shikotan, Russia30y ago · 55 km S of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 1,552 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 · 198 km NE of this epicenter
- 8.31958 Kuril Islands EarthquakeNovember 6, 1958 · 111 km NE of this epicenter
- 8.348 km E of Shikotan, RussiaOctober 4, 1994 · 24 km W of this epicenter
- 8.21969 Hokkaido Toho-oki EarthquakeAugust 11, 1969 · 31 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.9128 km ESE of Kuril’sk, RussiaDecember 3, 1995 · 172 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.8217 km ESE of Kuril’sk, RussiaOctober 20, 1963 · 260 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.719 km ESE of Nemuro, JapanJune 17, 1973 · 156 km W of this epicenter
- 7.6134 km SE of Kuril’sk, RussiaMarch 24, 1978 · 117 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 46 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 · 231 km away
45 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1973M7.7
Hokkaido Island
17 Jun 1973 · 156 km away · intensity VIII
27 deaths$5 million damagetsunami
- 1994M8.3
Kuril Islands; Japan: Hokkaido
4 Oct 1994 · 24 km away · intensity IX
11 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1894M7.9
Off Coast Of Honshu
22 Mar 1894 · 187 km away · intensity IX
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1938M6.1
E. Hokkaido Island, Japan
28 May 1938 · 266 km away
1 deathLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1958M8.3
Kuril Islands
6 Nov 1958 · 118 km away · intensity X
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.