Reviewed by USGSRussia30y ago
M5.0 earthquake 122 km ESE of Shikotan, Russia
Tuesday, November 12, 1996, 07:23:03 UTC · 43.208°N, 147.996°E
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 122 km ESE of Shikotan, Russia on Tuesday, November 12, 1996, 07:23:03 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.4 on October 31, 1996.
- Magnitude
- 5.0
- Moderate · 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: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
477 tons of TNT
That is about 1/32 of the Hiroshima bomb. Each whole step in magnitude is about 32 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
16 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 75 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.2 on November 12, 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 1,539 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 · 220 km NE of this epicenter
- 8.31958 Kuril Islands EarthquakeNovember 6, 1958 · 147 km N of this epicenter
- 8.348 km E of Shikotan, RussiaOctober 4, 1994 · 83 km NW of this epicenter
- 8.21969 Hokkaido Toho-oki EarthquakeAugust 11, 1969 · 33 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.9128 km ESE of Kuril’sk, RussiaDecember 3, 1995 · 193 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.8217 km ESE of Kuril’sk, RussiaOctober 20, 1963 · 265 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.719 km ESE of Nemuro, JapanJune 17, 1973 · 179 km W of this epicenter
- 7.6134 km SE of Kuril’sk, RussiaMarch 24, 1978 · 135 km NE 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 84 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1843M8.4
Hokkaido: Yezo, Kushiro, Nemuro
25 Apr 1843 · 211 km away
45 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1973M7.7
Hokkaido Island
17 Jun 1973 · 178 km away · intensity VIII
27 deaths$5 million damagetsunami
- 1994M8.3
Kuril Islands; Japan: Hokkaido
4 Oct 1994 · 83 km away · intensity IX
11 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1894M7.9
Off Coast Of Honshu
22 Mar 1894 · 181 km away · intensity IX
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1958M8.3
Kuril Islands
6 Nov 1958 · 153 km away · intensity X
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1969M8.2
Shikotan Island, Kurilskiye
11 Aug 1969 · 44 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.