M5.4 earthquake Kuril Islands
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck in the Kuril Islands on Sat, Dec 1, 1973, 7:38 PM JST (10:38 UTC), 36 km (22 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.9 79 km SSE of Shikotan, Russia. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.4 (mb, body-wave), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1973-12-01 10:38:51 UTC
- Depth
- 36.0 km (22.4 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 43.006° N, 146.075° E
- Region
- Japan
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Magnitude estimates
Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.4 | mb, body-wave | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.62 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.22 |
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Stations used
- 104
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.4 and up: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.979 km SSE of Shikotan, Russia · 19297 days ago · 31 km deep · 71 km away
- 5.972 km S of Shikotan, Russia · 19297 days ago · 40 km deep · 66 km away
- 4.672 km S of Shikotan, Russia · 19297 days ago · 33 km deep · 45 km away
- 4.088 km ESE of Nemuro, Japan · 19297 days ago · 107 km deep · 36 km away
- 5.169 km SSE of Shikotan, Russia · 19295 days ago · 33 km deep · 74 km away
- 5.061 km ESE of Nemuro, Japan · 19292 days ago · 58 km deep · 21 km away
- 4.7115 km SSE of Nemuro, Japan · 19274 days ago · 35 km deep · 76 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayJapan earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00004cq (also filed as iscgem753206). Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 4:13 PM UTC.