Strong M6.1 earthquake hits near Severo-Kuril’sk, Russia
A strong earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.1 hit 124 km (77 miles) SE of Severo-Kuril’sk, Russia at 10:41 UTC on June 7, 2026. The agency is reporting a depth of 35 km (22 miles). EMSC is reporting M6.0 at a depth of 5 km (3.1 miles)
Epicenter of M6.1 earthquake near Severo-Kuril’sk, Russia on June 7, 2026. Credit: TW/SAM, Google
The epicenter was located 124 km (77 miles) SE of Severo-Kuril’sk (population 2 422), 344 km (214 miles) SSW of Vilyuchinsk (population 25 204), and 362 km (225 miles) SSW of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (population 181 216), Russia.
3 000 people are estimated to have felt weak shaking and 2 000 light.
There is no tsunami threat from this earthquake.
The USGS issued a Green alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses. There is a low likelihood of casualties and damage. Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are resistant to earthquake shaking, though vulnerable structures exist. The predominant vulnerable building types are adobe block and unreinforced brick with mud construction.
The earthquake occurred in the seismically active Kuril–Kamchatka subduction zone, the same region affected by the major M8.8 earthquake and tsunami of July 29, 2025. This was the sixth strongest earthquake on record.
Estimated population exposure to earthquake shaking
Selected cities exposed
Regional seismicity
References:
1 M6.1 earthquake 124 km SE of Severo-Kuril’sk, Russia – USGS – June 7, 2026
2 M6.0 Kuril Islands, Russia – EMSC – June 7, 2026
I'm a dedicated researcher, journalist, and editor at The Watchers. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, I specialize in hard science news, focusing on extreme weather, seismic and volcanic activity, space weather, and astronomy, including near-Earth objects and planetary defense strategies. You can reach me at teo /at/ watchers.news.
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