Reviewed by USGSJapan59y ago
M5.5 earthquake 87 km E of Yamada, Japan
Tuesday, July 9, 1968, 08:06:09 UTC · 39.464°N, 142.968°E
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 87 km E of Yamada, Japan on Tuesday, July 9, 1968, 08:06:09 UTC, at a depth of 27.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.3 on July 5, 1968.
- Magnitude
- 5.5
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 27 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
3 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/5 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 7 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
106 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
27 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 lists 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.0 on July 12, 1968. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 428 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.41933 Sanriku (Sanriku-oki) Earthquake, JapanMarch 2, 1933 · 142 km E of this epicenter
- 8.21968 Tokachi-Oki EarthquakeMay 16, 1968 · 162 km N of this epicenter
- 8.0113 km ENE of Miyako, JapanMarch 20, 1960 · 50 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.978 km E of Hachinohe, JapanMarch 9, 1931 · 134 km N of this epicenter
- 7.970 km S of Honchō, JapanMay 16, 1968 · 226 km N of this epicenter
- 7.8105 km E of Iwaki, JapanNovember 5, 1938 · 288 km S of this epicenter
- 7.7277 km SSE of Kushiro, JapanMay 3, 1919 · 262 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.7116 km E of Namie, JapanNovember 6, 1938 · 239 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 63 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 34,291 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1896M8.3
Sanriku
15 Jun 1896 · 89 km away
27,122 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1933M8.4
Sanriku
2 Mar 1933 · 142 km away
3,022 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1766M6.9
Hirosaki
8 Mar 1766 · 250 km away
1,700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1793M8.3
Sanriku,Rikuzen,Rikuchu
17 Feb 1793 · 139 km away
745 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1894M7.0
Syonai
22 Oct 1894 · 280 km away
726 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1804M7.3
Kisakata
10 Jul 1804 · 264 km away
450 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.