Moderate magnitude 4.1 earthquake at 40 km depth20 Mar 06:28 UTC: First to report: EMSC after 7 minutes.I didn't feel itI felt this quakeEarthquake detailsDate & timeMar 20, 2026 06:21:30 UTC - Local time at epicenterFriday, Mar 20, 2026, at 05:21 pm (GMT +11)Statuspreliminary (automatic detection)Magnitude4.1Depth40 kmEpicenter latitude / longitude43.5°N / 146.7°EKurilsky District, Sakhalin Oblast, RussiaAlso near: Japan 72 km (45 mi) awaySeismic antipode43.5°S / 33.3°WShaking intensityIII Weak shaking near epicenterFelt0 reportsPrimary data sourceEMSC (European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre)Nearest volcanoMendeleev (94 km / 58 mi)Weather at epicenter at time of quakeScattered Clouds 0.7°C (33 F), humidity: 69%, wind: 2 m/s (4 kts) from NEstimated seismic energy released8.9 x 1010 joules (24.8 megawatt hours, equivalent to 21.3 tons of TNT) | equivalent to ONE quake of magnitude 4.1 | about seismic energy9 minutes agoMar 20, 2026 06:21 GMT / Mar 20, 2026 05:21 pm (GMT +11)Lat / Lng: 43.5 / 146.7: Russia: Kuril IslandsSource: EMSCDetail info | You felt it? - Report it!';storedMarkers.push(['quake-22825394',43.50000,146.70000,'9 minutes ago: Mag. 4.1, Russia: Kuril Islands',html,'quakes-6-24.png',25,25,12,12,125]); function mkRep(id,notFelt){var nFelt=notFelt||false;var src="https://www.volcanoesandearthquakes.com/app/earthquake-report.php?quakeId="+id;if(nFelt==true){src+="¬Felt=true";}window.open(src,"","status=0,toolbar=0,location=0,directories=0,menubar=0,resizable=1,scrollbars=1,height=400,width=350");} function locationHashChanged(e){-1!=e.oldURL.indexOf("#popupMap")&&closePopup()} window.onhashchange = locationHashChanged; function comment(e){var t=e.parentNode,a=(t.dataset.id,document.getElementById("commentForm"));"none"==a.style.display?(t.appendChild(a),a.style.display="block"):a.style.display="none"}function sendComment(e){var t=e.parentNode,a=t.parentNode.dataset.id,n=document.getElementById("commentContent"),p=n.value.trim();if(p){var o="id="+a+"&quakeId="+thisQuakeId;o+="&comment="+decodeURIComponent(p),mkRequest("//reports.volcanodiscovery.com/app/eqReportComment.php","post",o,function(e){e.responseText;alert("Thank you for submitting your comment!"),t.style.display="none",n.value=""})}}function flagReport(e){var t=e.parentNode.dataset.id;if(confirm("Report this as inappropriate?")){var a="id="+t+"&quakeId="+thisQuakeId+"&flagAsInappropriate=1";mkRequest("//reports.volcanodiscovery.com/app/eqReportComment.php","post",a,function(t){var a=t.responseText;alert(a),e.style.display="none"})}}function likeReport(e){var t="id="+e.parentNode.dataset.id+"&quakeId="+thisQuakeId+"&like=1";mkRequest("//reports.volcanodiscovery.com/app/eqReportComment.php","post",t,function(t){t.responseText;e.style.opacity=.5})}]]>[smaller] [bigger]Most recent quakes Top 20 past 24 hrs Quakes in KamchatkaNearby placesThe closest larger town where the quake might have been felt is Nemuro, a town with 31,000 inhabitants in Japan, in 93 km (58 mi) distance west of the epicenter. People likely experienced very weak shaking there. Several smaller towns and villages are located closer to the epicenter and might have experienced stronger shaking.The following table shows some of the places that might have been affected (or not) by the shaking.DistancePlaceMax. shaking intensity(*)RegionCountry33 km (21 mi)N of epicenterShikotan(pop: 2,100)III: WeakSakhalin OblastRussia89 km (55 mi)NW of epicenterYuzhno-Kurilsk(pop: 7,780)II: Very weakSakhalin OblastRussia93 km (58 mi)W of epicenterNemuro(pop: 31,200)II: Very weakHokkaidoJapan128 km (79 mi)W of epicenterShibetsu(pop: 21,700)II: Very weakHokkaidoJapan134 km (83 mi)NW of epicenterRausu(pop: 5,400)II: Very weakMenashi-gun, HokkaidoJapan135 km (84 mi)W of epicenterHamanaka-sakuraminami(pop: 5,510)II: Very weakAkkeshi-gun, HokkaidoJapan139 km (87 mi)W of epicenterNakashibetsu(pop: 24,000)II: Very weakShibetsu-gun, HokkaidoJapan158 km (98 mi)W of epicenterAkkeshi(pop: 8,920)II: Very weakHokkaidoJapan170 km (105 mi)W of epicenterHonmachi(pop: 11,900)II: Very weakShari-gun, HokkaidoJapan174 km (108 mi)W of epicenterShibecha(pop: 7,230)II: Very weakKawakami-gun, HokkaidoJapan178 km (111 mi)W of epicenterTeshikaga(pop: 7,630)II: Very weakKawakami-gun, HokkaidoJapan184 km (114 mi)W of epicenterKoshimizu(pop: 5,030)II: Very weakShari-gun, HokkaidoJapan196 km (122 mi)W of epicenterTsurui(pop: 2,560)II: Very weakAkan-gun, HokkaidoJapan197 km (123 mi)W of epicenterKushiro(pop: 167,900)II: Very weakHokkaidoJapan204 km (127 mi)W of epicenterAbashiri(pop: 35,800)I: Not feltHokkaidoJapan209 km (130 mi)W of epicenterOzora(pop: 7,430)I: Not feltAbashiri-gun, HokkaidoJapan213 km (132 mi)W of epicenterMotomachi(pop: 23,000)I: Not feltAbashiri-gun, HokkaidoJapan214 km (133 mi)NE of epicenterKuril'sk(pop: 1,610)I: Not feltSakhalin OblastRussia217 km (135 mi)W of epicenterHoncho(pop: 5,010)I: Not feltAbashiri-gun, HokkaidoJapan220 km (137 mi)W of epicenterShiranuka(pop: 7,970)I: Not feltHokkaidoJapan229 km (142 mi)W of epicenterKitami(pop: 119,100)I: Not feltHokkaidoJapan238 km (148 mi)W of epicenterRikubetsu(pop: 2,530)I: Not feltAshoro-gun, HokkaidoJapan240 km (149 mi)W of epicenterMotomachi(pop: 4,680)I: Not feltTokoro-gun, HokkaidoJapan241 km (150 mi)W of epicenterToppushi(pop: 4,880)I: Not feltTokoro-gun, HokkaidoJapan251 km (156 mi)W of epicenterOketo(pop: 3,040)I: Not feltTokoro-gun, HokkaidoJapan253 km (157 mi)W of epicenterKamihonbetsu(pop: 6,620)I: Not feltNakagawa-gun, HokkaidoJapan257 km (160 mi)W of epicenterAshoro(pop: 7,150)I: Not feltHokkaidoJapan259 km (161 mi)W of epicenterHoncho(pop: 5,020)I: Not feltTokachi-gun, HokkaidoJapan261 km (162 mi)W of epicenterEngaru(pop: 19,200)I: Not feltMonbetsu Gun, HokkaidoJapan271 km (168 mi)W of epicenterIkeda(pop: 6,930)I: Not feltNakagawa-gun, HokkaidoJapan281 km (175 mi)W of epicenterSarubetsu(pop: 25,800)I: Not feltNakagawa-gun, HokkaidoJapan282 km (175 mi)W of epicenterShihoro(pop: 5,850)I: Not feltKato-gun, HokkaidoJapan284 km (177 mi)W of epicenterMombetsu(pop: 23,000)I: Not feltMonbetsu Shi, HokkaidoJapan289 km (180 mi)W of epicenterOtofuke(pop: 44,200)I: Not feltKato-gun, HokkaidoJapan291 km (181 mi)W of epicenterObihiro(pop: 166,500)I: Not feltHokkaidoJapan304 km (189 mi)W of epicenterMemuro-minami(pop: 18,000)I: Not feltKasai-gun, HokkaidoJapan309 km (192 mi)SW of epicenterHiroo(pop: 7,180)I: Not feltHokkaidoJapan314 km (195 mi)W of epicenterShimizu(pop: 9,780)I: Not feltKamikawa-gun (Tokachi), HokkaidoJapan353 km (219 mi)SW of epicenterUrakawa(pop: 12,800)I: Not feltHokkaidoJapan494 km (307 mi)NW of epicenterYuzhno-Sakhalinsk(pop: 199,000)I: Not feltSakhalin OblastRussiaNotes:(*) Shaking intensity according to the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale (MMI) and estimated using seismic models.User-reports for this quakeThere are no user reports for this quake yet.If you felt it, be the first to report it!Get the Android appCompare Quake DataData for the same earthquake as reported by different agenciesThe more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision.MagDepthTime GMT2026-03-20EpicenterAgency4.0940 km25 mi06:21:30KURIL ISLANDSEMSC (European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre)Aftershocks for this quakeNo aftershocks have been recorded so far. When aftershocks are detected, we will update this section.What are aftershocks?Larger earthquakes (above magnitude 5 or so) such as this one are usually followed by smaller ones known as aftershocks that occur in the same area during the days, weeks, months or even years after the main shock.[More info]What about this quake?Based on its magnitude, the fault that was active during the quake likely ruptured beneath a surface area of approximately 1 km2 (0 square miles) as a first-order estimate. The length of the rupture zone thus was probably around 2 km (1 mi).[More info]Recorded aftershocks, latest first (0 quake)Mar 20, 2026 05:21 pm (GMT +11)9 minutes ago4.140 km0 km - This quakeNorth Pacific Ocean, 33 km S of Shikotan, Sakhalin Oblast, RussiaMain Shock (this quake)MoreMap of aftershocksEarthquake statisticsAverage number of earthquakesBased on data from the past 26 years and our earthquake archive back to 1900, there are about 363 quakes on average per year in the area near the epicenter of this quake (within 100 km/61 mi):Mag. 8 or higher: 0.02 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 62.5 years)Mag. 7 or higher: 0.1 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 10.5 years)Mag. 6 or higher: 0.67 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 1.5 years)Mag. 5 or higher: 4.9 quakes per yearMag. 4 or higher: 37.2 quakes per year (or 3.1 quakes per month)Mag. 3 or higher: 118 quakes per year (or 9.8 quakes per month)Mag. 2 or higher: 281 quakes per year (or 23.4 quakes per month)Mag. 1 or higher: 355 quakes per year (or 29.6 quakes per month)The area where this quake occurred has a very high level of seismic activity. It has had at least 2 quakes above magnitude 8 since 1900, which suggests that larger earthquakes of this size occur infrequently, probably on average approximately every 60 to 65 years.Number of quakes per yearPrevious quakes in the same area of this earthquake