Reviewed by USGSJapan120y ago
M6.8 earthquake 70 km E of Namie, Japan
Wednesday, January 15, 1908, 12:57:21 UTC · 37.587°N, 141.782°E
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck 70 km E of Namie, Japan on Wednesday, January 15, 1908, 12:57:21 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.7 on July 6, 1905.
- Magnitude
- 6.8
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 35 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
256 kilotons of TNT
That is about 17 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 537 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
164 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Pacific and Okhotsk plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
35 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 100 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 5 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.7217 km ESE of Kamaishi, JapanJuly 6, 1905 · 225 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.0Northern Honshu, JapanMay 11, 1900 · 137 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.0Near the east coast of Honshu, JapanJune 15, 1901 · 190 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.0Off the east coast of Honshu, JapanMay 2, 1902 · 249 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.6132 km ESE of Iwaki, JapanApril 8, 1906 · 107 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 26 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 37,615 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1896M8.3
Sanriku
15 Jun 1896 · 287 km away
27,122 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1855M7.0
Tokyo
11 Nov 1855 · 279 km away
6,757 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1828
Sandyo In Etigo
18 Dec 1828 · 201 km away
1,443 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1793M8.3
Sanriku,Rikuzen,Rikuchu
17 Feb 1793 · 219 km away
745 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1894M7.0
Syonai
22 Oct 1894 · 226 km away
726 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1804M7.3
Kisakata
10 Jul 1804 · 228 km away
450 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.