Very strong mag. 6.8 earthquake - 137 km east of Shikotan, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia, on Tuesday, August 12, 1969 at 05:53 GMT
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Very strong magnitude 6.8 earthquake at 29 km depth
Magnitude: 6.8
Depth: 29.3 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 43.789°N / 148.424°E

Antipode: 43.789°S / 31.576°W
Nearest volcano: Urbich Caldera (133 km / 83 mi)
Nearby towns and cities:
137 km (85 mi) E of Shikotan (pop: 2,100) --> See nearby quakes!
166 km (103 mi) SSE of Kuril'sk (pop: 1,720) --> See nearby quakes!
207 km (129 mi) E of Yuzhno-Kurilsk (pop: 6,470) --> See nearby quakes!
207 km (129 mi) E of Otrada (pop: 3,220) --> See nearby quakes!
235 km (146 mi) ENE of Nemuro (Japan) (pop: 31,200) --> See nearby quakes!
265 km (165 mi) E of Shibetsu (Japan) (pop: 21,700) --> See nearby quakes!
334 km (207 mi) E of Abashiri (Japan) (pop: 42,500) --> See nearby quakes!
340 km (211 mi) ENE of Kushiro (Japan) (pop: 183,600) --> See nearby quakes!
347 km (216 mi) E of Motomachi (Abashiri District, Japan) (pop: 23,000) --> See nearby quakes!
364 km (226 mi) E of Kitami (Japan) (pop: 113,100) --> See nearby quakes!
Primary data source: USGS (United States Geological Survey)
Estimated released energy: 1 x 1015 joules (278 gigawatt hours, equivalent to 2.4 x 105 tons of TNT or 14.9 atomic bombs!) | about seismic energy
Data for the same earthquake reported by different agencies
Info: The more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision.
Mag. | Depth | Location | Source |
6.8 | 29 km | east of the Kuril Islands (Russia) | USGS |
User reports for this quake
User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.
Aftershocks
[More info]
Recorded aftershocks, latest first (35 quakes)
Date and time![]() | Mag Depth | Location | Details |
Feb 3, 1970 19:17 52 years ago | 5.7 29 km | Russia | More |
Feb 2, 1970 18:05 52 years ago | 5.8 26 km | Russia | More |
Feb 2, 1970 17:49 52 years ago | 6.0 30 km | 82 km SE of Shikotan, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia | More |
Feb 2, 1970 17:22 52 years ago | 5.7 31 km | Russia | More |
Dec 28, 1969 04:53 52 years ago | 5.7 29 km | 100 km SE of Shikotan, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia | More |
Oct 25, 1969 12:03 53 years ago | 5.6 45 km | 97 km E of Shikotan, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia | More |
Sep 29, 1969 17:58 53 years ago | 5.8 25 km | 99 km SE of Shikotan, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia | More |
Sep 27, 1969 04:02 53 years ago | 5.6 49 km | 41 km E of Shikotan, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia | More |
Sep 13, 1969 11:52 53 years ago | 5.7 34 km | Russia, 169 km E of Nemuro, Hokkaido, Japan | More |
Sep 6, 1969 07:43 53 years ago | 5.7 42 km | 61 km E of Shikotan, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia | More |
Sep 4, 1969 21:12 53 years ago | 5.7 30 km | 59 km E of Shikotan, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia | More |
Aug 30, 1969 08:28 53 years ago | 6.1 27 km | 90 km E of Shikotan, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia | More |
Aug 30, 1969 07:54 53 years ago | 5.7 35 km | 63 km S of Shikotan Island, Yuzhno-Kurilsky District, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia | More |
Aug 30, 1969 07:11 53 years ago | 6.4 26 km | 94 km E of Shikotan, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia | More |
Aug 28, 1969 21:35 53 years ago | 5.8 26 km | Russia, 177 km E of Nemuro, Hokkaido, Japan | More |
Aug 27, 1969 03:26 53 years ago | 5.7 35 km | Russia, 178 km E of Nemuro, Hokkaido, Japan | More |
Aug 22, 1969 04:40 53 years ago | 5.8 25 km | Russia, 199 km E of Nemuro, Hokkaido, Japan | More |
Aug 21, 1969 13:24 53 years ago | 5.8 29 km | 187 km E of Yuzhno-Kurilsk, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia | More |
Aug 21, 1969 03:32 53 years ago | 5.9 27 km | 84 km SE of Shikotan, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia | More |
Aug 19, 1969 08:49 53 years ago | 6.6 27 km | 183 km E of Yuzhno-Kurilsk, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia | More |
Aug 18, 1969 11:43 53 years ago | 5.8 25 km | 143 km E of Shikotan, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia | More |
Aug 16, 1969 17:13 53 years ago | 5.6 33 km | Russia, 170 km E of Nemuro, Hokkaido, Japan | More |
Aug 16, 1969 15:15 53 years ago | 5.8 33 km | 90 km SE of Shikotan, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia | More |
Aug 15, 1969 10:02 53 years ago | 6.1 25 km | 148 km SE of Shikotan, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia | More |
Aug 15, 1969 04:32 53 years ago | 6.3 19 km | Russia, 187 km E of Nemuro, Hokkaido, Japan | More |
Aug 14, 1969 14:19 53 years ago | 7.1 28 km | 92 km SE of Shikotan, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia | More |
Aug 13, 1969 22:57 53 years ago | 6.3 31 km | 191 km E of Yuzhno-Kurilsk, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia | More |
Aug 13, 1969 08:31 53 years ago | 6.1 35 km | 93 km E of Shikotan, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia | More |
Aug 13, 1969 03:29 53 years ago | 5.8 35 km | 72 km SE of Shikotan, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia | More |
Aug 12, 1969 23:05 53 years ago | 6.0 31 km | Russia, 188 km E of Nemuro, Hokkaido, Japan | More |
Aug 12, 1969 13:18 53 years ago | 5.8 27 km | 195 km E of Yuzhno-Kurilsk, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia | More |
Aug 12, 1969 11:21 53 years ago | 6.8 19 km | 161 km E of Shikotan, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia | More |
Aug 12, 1969 09:33 53 years ago | 6.1 31 km | 83 km E of Shikotan, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia | More |
Aug 12, 1969 09:25 53 years ago | 6.0 26 km | 96 km SE of Shikotan, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia | More |
Aug 12, 1969 07:10 53 years ago | 5.6 35 km | 189 km E of Yuzhno-Kurilsk, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia | More |
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