1994 Kuril Islands earthquake
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   | |
| UTC time | 1994-10-04 13:23:00 |
|---|---|
| ISC event | 145456 |
| USGS-ANSS | ComCat |
| Local date | October 5, 1994 |
| Local time | 00:23:00 |
| Magnitude | 8.3 Mw[1] 8.1 MJMA[2] |
| Depth | 30.0 km (18.6 mi)[1] |
| Epicenter | 43°51′N 147°10′E / 43.85°N 147.17°E[1] |
| Areas affected | Russia and Japan |
| Max. intensity | MMI IX (Violent) |
| Casualties | 10–12 dead 242–1,742 injured 1,200 homeless[3] |
The 1994 Kuril Islands earthquake – also known as the Hokkaido Toho-oki earthquake – occurred on October 5 at 00:23:00 local time. The magnitude of this earthquake was put at Mw8.3, or MJMA8.1. The epicenter was located at about 70 km east of Shikotan Island. The shaking and tsunami caused road and building damage. At least 10 people were reported dead.
Damage
This earthquake was an intra-slab earthquake within the Pacific plate which is subducting beneath the Okhotsk microplate.[4][5]
Oil storage tanks in Malokurilsk and Krabozavodsk were damaged. An oil leak occurred and caused heavy contamination of the port area.[6]
Intensity
The intensity was MSK VI~IX in Shikotan Island.[7]
The earthquake could be felt in Tokyo with shindo 3, and in Hokkaido, the highest intensity reached shindo 6.[8][9]
Aftershocks
A large aftershock of magnitude Mw 7.1 or Ms 7.7 occurred on October 9, 1994, at 07:55 UTC. It was located at 43.97° N, 148.22° E with a depth of 33 km.[7] It generated a tsunami, and a peak-to-trough tsunami wave height of 18 cm was recorded in Hanasaki, Japan.[10]
Tsunami
A numerical simulation of the tsunami suggested that the first wave was caused by a significant subsidence north of the Kuril Islands due to the earthquake.[11]
A peak-to-trough tsunami wave height of 3.46 m (11.4 ft) was recorded in Hanasaki, Japan.[10]
This earthquake triggered a tsunami in the southern Kuril Islands and Hokkaido.[12] The tsunami run-up height was more than 3 m in Yuzhno-Kurilsk bay and 5 m in Zelenyi Island, Russia.[7]
The tsunami had a maximum runup height of 10.4 m (34 ft) at the southern part of Dimitrova Bay.[13]