February 16, 1991 Earthquake: Kuril Islands, Russia
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck Kuril Islands, Russia on February 16, 1991 at 01:23:40 UTC, 39 km below the surface. It caused a tsunami.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- February 16, 1991
- Time
- 01:23:40 UTC
- Place
- Kuril Islands, Russia
- Magnitude
- 5.7 (Ms)
- Magnitude scales
- Ms 5.7 · mb 6.3
- Focal depth
- 39 km (24 mi)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 48.268° N, 154.328° E
- Country
- Russia
- Region
- Kamchatka and Kuril Islands
- USGS record
- The USGS’s page for this earthquake
Ms: surface-wave magnitude. mb: body-wave (P-wave) magnitude. NCEI’s headline magnitude is the best of these for the earthquake.
The toll
The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this earthquake.
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
Felt (II) at Severo-Kurilsk. Depth from broadband displacement seismograms. FAULT PLANE SOLUTION: P-Waves NP1:Strike=50 Dip=78 Slip=90 NP2:Strike=230 Dip=12 Slip=90 Principal Axes: (T) Plg=57 Azm=320 (P) Plg=33 Azm=140 Comment: The focal mechanism is poorly controlled and corresponds to reverse faulting. The preferred fault plane is NP2. RADIATED ENERGY No. of sta: 14 Focal mech. F Energy 1.4+0.3*10**13 Nm CENTROID, MOMENT TENSOR (HRV) Data Used: GDSN L.P.B.: 17S, 45C Centroid Location: Origin Time 01:23:46.0 0.2 Lat 48.31N 0.03 Lon 154.33E 0.03 Dep 37.7 1.9 Half-duration 4.0 Moment Tensor; Scale 10**18 Nm Mrr=1.17 0.03 Mtt=-0.04 0.05 Mff=-1.14 0.04 Mrt=0.34 0.06 Mrf=0.57 0.07 Mtf=-0.77 0.04 Principal Axes: (T) Val=1.33 Plg=77 Azm=308 (N) Val=0.36 Plg=2 Azm=208 (P) Val=-1.69 Plg=13 Azm=117 Best Double Couple:Mo=1.5*10**18 NP1:Strike=204 Dip=32 Slip=86 NP2:Strike=29 Dip=58 Slip=93
From the USGS event page for usp0004mzv. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.
Magnitude estimates
The magnitudes the USGS catalog lists for this earthquake, by scale and by who computed them. NCEI’s own scales are in the table above.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.1 | Mw, moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 6.06 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 6.1 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
| 5.83 | Me, energy | Choy, USGS energy magnitude | Reviewed |
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Felt (III) at Severo-Kurilsk. (reference #1053)
Sources NCEI cites
The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.
- #1053 National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) (1971 to 2013). Preliminary Determination of Epicenters (PDE), a weekly and monthly publication, National Earthquake Information Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Golden, Colorado, 1971 to 2013.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
More
Significant earthquakes of 1991The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1991Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 6479. The written accounts and the magnitude estimates are from the USGS earthquake catalog, event usp0004mzv, matched to this record by time, place and magnitude.