M6.1 earthquake - 139 km E of Shikotan, Russia

What happened

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 139 km E of Shikotan, Russia on 20 Nov 1983, 00:44 UTC at a depth of 29 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Strong. Can cause damage in populated areas up to tens of kilometres away. This was a shallow earthquake, which tends to be felt more strongly at the surface.

The nearest town in our records is Nemuro, about 236 km away in Hokkaido, Japan.