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M6.9 earthquake 130 km SW of Vilyuchinsk, Kamchatka, Russia

A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck 130 km SW of Vilyuchinsk, Kamchatka, Russia at 15:35 local time (03:35 UTC) on 16 Oct 2026, at a depth of 135 km, according to USGS, GFZ and INGV.

Reported by 3 agencies

Data: USGS, GFZ, INGV · updated 2026-10-16 04:14 UTC · reviewed

Magnitude
6.9strong
moment magnitude (W phase) (mww)
Depth
135 km
Status
Reviewed
Origin time
2026-10-16 03:35:31 UTC
Local: 16 Oct 2026, 15:35:31 (Asia/Kamchatka)
Epicentre
51.985° N, 157.270° E

Circles show this event and others within 300 km from 7 days before to 30 days after. Lines: plate boundaries and GEM active faults. Open on the live map

Nearby places

Distance and estimated shaking at nearby places
PlaceDistanceEst. shaking
VilyuchinskKamchatka, Russia · pop. 25,204130 kmVModerate

Shaking is an estimate from the intensity prediction equation of Allen, Wald & Worden (2012), not an observation. Local ground and buildings can change it by a level or more. Likely felt out to about 981 km.

Every agency's solution

Agencies locate earthquakes with their own stations and methods, so their numbers differ. We match reports of the same event by time, distance and magnitude and show them side by side. The headline uses USGS, which has been reviewed by an analyst.

AgencyMagnitudeDepthEpicentreTime offsetStatus
GFZGFZ via GEOFON, GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences6.9 Mwas 6.9129 km52.08° N, 157.21° E+0.3 sAutomatic · 1 revision
USGSheadlineUSGS NEIC via U.S. Geological Survey6.9 mww135 km51.98° N, 157.27° E–Reviewed · 1 revision
INGVSURVEY-INGV-A via Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia6.8 Mwp142.2 km51.85° N, 157.41° E+2.3 sAutomatic

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How big was it?

Can cause damage over tens of kilometres, depending on depth, local ground and how buildings are built.

It released roughly the energy of 338 kt of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step means about 32 times more energy and 10 times larger waves on a seismogram. Depth matters too: at 135 km this was a intermediate-depth earthquake, which spreads shaking over a wider area but less intensely.

M6.9 releases about 32× the energy of M5.9, and its waves are about 10× taller on a seismogram. Energy: 338 kt of TNT vs 11 kt of TNT.

Each square is the energy of one M5.9. Energy from log₁₀E = 1.5M + 4.8.

Aftershocks and nearby activity

1 later earthquake within 300 km; the largest was M6.9 1 h 36 min ago. 9 in the 7 days before. Aftershock rates usually fall off roughly in proportion to 1/time.

Aftershocks

Mainshock M6.9

1 later earthquake nearby. Aftershock rates typically fall off roughly as 1/time (Omori's law).

Aftershocks
Time after mainshock (hours)MagnitudeDepth (km)
0.046.9160
  1. 6.9Adjacent Kamchatka Peninsula10-16 03:38

Did you feel it?

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Reports on SeismoAtlas

No reports yet.

Event id gfz2026uglz. First recorded here 16 Oct 2026, 03:47:30 UTC. Solutions: GFZ (geofon:gfz2026uglz); USGS (usgs:us6000u2mq); INGV (ingv:47547112). Cite as: SeismoAtlas, “M6.9 earthquake 130 km SW of Vilyuchinsk, Kamchatka, Russia”, https://seismoatlas.com/earthquake/gfz2026uglz-m6-9-earthquake-130-km-sw-of-vilyuchinsk-kamchatka-russia, data from USGS, GFZ, INGV.

JSON: /api/v1/events/gfz2026uglz. SeismoAtlas is not an official warning service.