Reviewed by USGSJapan59y ago
M5.8 earthquake 11 km SSW of Honchō, Japan
Wednesday, June 26, 1968, 10:23:51 UTC · 42.042°N, 142.849°E
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck 11 km SSW of Honchō, Japan on Wednesday, June 26, 1968, 10:23:51 UTC, at a depth of 48.2 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.8 on June 25, 1968.
- Magnitude
- 5.8
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 48 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- V
- Moderate (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
7 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/2 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 14 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
187 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
48 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 319 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.21968 Tokachi-Oki EarthquakeMay 16, 1968 · 135 km S of this epicenter
- 8.11952 Tokachi-Oki EarthquakeMarch 4, 1952 · 87 km E of this epicenter
- 8.0113 km ENE of Miyako, JapanMarch 20, 1960 · 244 km S of this epicenter
- 7.978 km E of Hachinohe, JapanMarch 9, 1931 · 165 km S of this epicenter
- 7.970 km S of Honchō, JapanMay 16, 1968 · 60 km S of this epicenter
- 7.7277 km SSE of Kushiro, JapanMay 3, 1919 · 278 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.5Near the east coast of Honshu, JapanAugust 9, 1901 · 167 km S of this epicenter
- 7.379 km ENE of Miyako, JapanMay 27, 1928 · 241 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 44 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 29,216 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1896M8.3
Sanriku
15 Jun 1896 · 299 km away
27,122 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1766M6.9
Hirosaki
8 Mar 1766 · 219 km away
1,700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1896
Senhoku, Ugo
31 Aug 1896 · 275 km away
206 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1968M8.2
Off East Coast Of Honshu Island
16 May 1968 · 141 km away · intensity VI
52 deaths$131 million damagetsunami
- 1843M8.4
Hokkaido: Yezo, Kushiro, Nemuro
25 Apr 1843 · 260 km away
45 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1952M8.1
Hokkaido
4 Mar 1952 · 83 km away · intensity IX
33 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.