M6.0 earthquake - 86 km SE of Shikotan, Russia

What happened

A magnitude 6 earthquake struck 86 km SE of Shikotan, Russia on 2 Feb 1970, 17:49 UTC at a depth of 32 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 161 km away in Hokkaido, Japan.