Strong and shallow M6.2 earthquake hits Kuril Islands, Russia
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.2 hit Kuril Islands, Russia at 14:38 UTC on October 23, 2024. The agency is reporting a depth of 48.6 km (30.2 miles). EMCS is reporting M6.2 at a depth of 40 km (24.8 miles).
M6.2 earthquake in Kuril Islands, Russia on October 23, 2024. Image credit: TW/SAM, Google
The epicenter was located 144.8 km (90 miles) SSW of Severo-Kuril’sk (population 2 422) and 435 km (270.3 miles) SSW of Vilyuchinsk (population 24 204).
2 000 people are estimated to have felt light shaking.
There is no tsunami threat from this earthquake.
The USGS issued a Green alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses. There is a low likelihood of casualties and damage.
Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are resistant to earthquake shaking, though vulnerable structures exist. The predominant vulnerable building types are adobe block and unreinforced brick with mud construction.
Estimated population exposure to earthquake shaking
Selected cities exposed
Regional seismicity
References:
1 M6.2 earthquake Kamchatka, Russia – USGS – October 23, 2024
2 M6.2 earthquake Kamchatka, Russia – EMSC – October 23, 2024
I'm a dedicated researcher, journalist, and editor at The Watchers. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, I specialize in hard science news, focusing on extreme weather, seismic and volcanic activity, space weather, and astronomy, including near-Earth objects and planetary defense strategies. You can reach me at teo /at/ watchers.news.
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