Reviewed by USGSJapan55y ago
M5.8 earthquake 202 km SSE of Katsuura, Japan
Saturday, March 18, 1972, 23:17:41 UTC · 33.565°N, 141.419°E
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck 202 km SSE of Katsuura, Japan on Saturday, March 18, 1972, 23:17:41 UTC, at a depth of 37.9 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.0 on February 29, 1972.
- Magnitude
- 5.8
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 38 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
9 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/2 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 19 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
1 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North American and African plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
38 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 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 238 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.05 km SSE of Ōiso, JapanSeptember 1, 1923 · 269 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.9174 km SE of Katsuura, JapanNovember 25, 1953 · 53 km N of this epicenter
- 7.85 km E of Tateyama, JapanSeptember 2, 1923 · 209 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.3190 km SE of Hasaki, JapanSeptember 7, 1906 · 167 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.264 km ENE of Hasaki, JapanJune 1, 1923 · 264 km N of this epicenter
- 7.238 km SSW of Shimoda, JapanOctober 24, 1905 · 252 km W of this epicenter
- 7.293 km ENE of Hasaki, JapanJanuary 16, 1961 · 286 km N of this epicenter
- 7.2193 km SSE of Wada, JapanFebruary 29, 1972 · 51 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 25 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 117,755 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1923M7.9
Tokyo, Yokohama
1 Sep 1923 · 245 km away
105,385 deaths$600 million damagetsunami
- 1855M7.0
Tokyo
11 Nov 1855 · 275 km away
6,757 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1703M8.2
Off Sw Boso Peninsula
30 Dec 1703 · 206 km away
5,233 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1930M7.1
Honshu: Idu
25 Nov 1930 · 274 km away
259 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1853
Odawara
11 Mar 1853 · 278 km away
79 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1894M7.5
Tokyo
20 Jun 1894 · 275 km away
24 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.