Reviewed by USGSRussia30y ago
M3.9 earthquake 102 km ESE of Kuril’sk, Russia
Thursday, September 5, 1996, 05:52:43 UTC · 44.836°N, 149.062°E
A magnitude 3.9 earthquake struck 102 km ESE of Kuril’sk, Russia on Thursday, September 5, 1996, 05:52:43 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
115 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 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.0 on September 6, 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 1,675 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 · 33 km E of this epicenter
- 8.31958 Kuril Islands EarthquakeNovember 6, 1958 · 60 km SW of this epicenter
- 8.348 km E of Shikotan, RussiaOctober 4, 1994 · 182 km SW of this epicenter
- 8.21969 Hokkaido Toho-oki EarthquakeAugust 11, 1969 · 183 km SW of this epicenter
- 8.11918 Kuril Islands EarthquakeSeptember 7, 1918 · 257 km E of this epicenter
- 7.9128 km ESE of Kuril’sk, RussiaDecember 3, 1995 · 27 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.8east of the Kuril IslandsNovember 8, 1918 · 231 km E of this epicenter
- 7.8217 km ESE of Kuril’sk, RussiaOctober 20, 1963 · 118 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 46 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1918M8.3
Kuril Islands
7 Sep 1918 · 205 km away
23 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1780M7.5
Kuril Islands
29 Jun 1780 · 176 km away
12 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1994M8.3
Kuril Islands; Japan: Hokkaido
4 Oct 1994 · 182 km away · intensity IX
11 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1958M8.3
Kuril Islands
6 Nov 1958 · 53 km away · intensity X
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1969M8.2
Shikotan Island, Kurilskiye
11 Aug 1969 · 166 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1978M7.5
Kuril Islands
6 Dec 1978 · 198 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.