M5.7 earthquake 3 km SSE of Samashki, Russia
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck 3 km SSE of Samashki, Russia on Sun, Oct 18, 1981, 8:22 AM GMT+3 (05:22 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.7 (Ms, surface-wave), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-10-18 05:22:28 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 43.257° N, 45.308° E
- Region
- Russia
- Strongest shaking
- VI, strong shaking
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.7 | Ms, surface-wave | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed · 3 stations |
| 5.57 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.6 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
Felt (IV) at Groznyy and (III) at Makhachkala and Pyatigorsk.
From the USGS event page for usp0001ghq. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.
Shaking
The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.
- Strongest estimated
- VI, strong shaking
- Peak ground acceleration
- 10.9% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- 2.1 cm/s
- Map
- Automatic
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Depth from
- OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.7 and up: 5 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.50 km E of Zakan-Yurt, Russia · 16419 days ago · 33 km deep · 10 km away
- 4.6Caucasus region, Russia · 16419 days ago · 33 km deep · 34 km away
- 4.49 km NNW of Samashki, Russia · 16418 days ago · 33 km deep · 13 km away
- 4.7Caucasus region, Russia · 16417 days ago · 33 km deep · 7 km away
- 4.31 km SW of Khambi-Irze, Russia · 16415 days ago · 33 km deep · 11 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001ghq (also filed as gcmtb101881b, gcmt19811018052228, atlas19811018052228, iscgem610122). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 12:28 AM UTC.