M6.8 earthquake - 142 km SE of Kuril’sk, Russia

What happened

A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck 142 km SE of Kuril’sk, Russia on 23 Mar 1978, 00:31 UTC at a depth of 46 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 291 km away in Hokkaido, Japan.