PDC Updates | Nov 16, 2006
Pacific Disaster Center

M8.3 Earthquake in the Kuril Islands Generated Small But Non-Destructive Waves

A powerful 8.3 Magnitude earthquake struck offshore to the east of the Kuril Islands, located between Russia and Japan, around 8:14 p.m. local time, Wednesday evening (1:14 a.m. HST and 11:14 a.m. UTC). Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) in Hawaii issued a series of Tsunami Bulletins including tsunami warnings for Russia, Japan, Guam and other central Pacific Islands. A tsunami watch was also issued for Hawaii, the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Vietnam as well as South Pacific islands. PTWC canceled the destructive tsunami watch for Hawaii at 5:04 a.m. HST.

Approximately one hour after the quake, a tsunami measuring 40 cm (approximately 16 inches) made landfall on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. Early predictions had calculated a possible wave height of two meters (approximately 6 feet). Four more waves followed, each measuring 20 cm (approximately 8 inches). Based on this reading, no destructive wave was expected for the Pacific, although PTWC warned of potential small sea level changes. The Maui News reported a series of "small tsunamis" of as much as four feet in Kahului Harbor.

Please refer to the links below for the latest information on this developing situation:

Date Latest Updates
Ongoing Information from PDC's Asia Pacific Natural Hazards and Vulnerabilities Atlas.
Ongoing Tsunami bulletins from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).
Ongoing Earthquake information from the National Earthquake Information Center (U.S. Geological Survey).
Ongoing Coverage from the BBC and Center of Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance.
 
Above: Epicenter locations of the M8.3 earthquake and associated aftershocks are automatically incorporated into PDC's Asia Pacific Natural Hazards and Vulnerabilities Atlas.
 
The epicenter of the earthquake was in the Kuril Trench—a place where the Pacific Plate is forced beneath the North American plate. The Kuril Trench is part of the "Pacific Ring of Fire," a line of volcanoes around the Pacific Rim which is, historically, a region of high seismic activity.
 
Above: The map shows the "Ring of Fire" with the orange triangles indicating the locations of volcanoes, and the red ones indicating actual known eruptions. This map was generated using PDC's Asia Pacific Natural Hazards and Vulnerabilities Atlas.
Historical Data

On October 4, 1994, a M8.1 earthquake in the Southern Kuril Islands generated a local tsunami.

The U.S. Geological Survey maintains a historic record of seismic activity around the Kuril Trench and provides links to related phenomena in the region.