QuakeScout
Magnitude6.7

Reviewed by USGSJapan66y ago

M6.7 earthquake 96 km ENE of Hasaki, Japan

Monday, January 16, 1961, 15:41:13 UTC · 36.202°N, 141.741°E

A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck 96 km ENE of Hasaki, Japan on Monday, January 16, 1961, 15:41:13 UTC, at a depth of 30.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.0 on January 16, 1961.

Magnitude
6.7
Strong · mw
Depth
30 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

163 kilotons of TNT

That is about 11 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 343 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

79 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Pacific and Okhotsk plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.

Depth: shallow

30 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 292 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.05 km SSE of Ōiso, JapanSeptember 1, 1923 · 240 km SW of this epicenter
  2. 7.9174 km SE of Katsuura, JapanNovember 25, 1953 · 244 km S of this epicenter
  3. 7.85 km E of Tateyama, JapanSeptember 2, 1923 · 213 km SW of this epicenter
  4. 7.8105 km E of Iwaki, JapanNovember 5, 1938 · 90 km N of this epicenter
  5. 7.7116 km E of Namie, JapanNovember 6, 1938 · 140 km N of this epicenter
  6. 7.769 km ESE of Kitaibaraki, JapanMay 23, 1938 · 45 km NW of this epicenter
  7. 7.7116 km ESE of Namie, JapanNovember 5, 1938 · 114 km NE of this epicenter
  8. 7.6119 km SE of Kamaishi, JapanNovember 1, 1915 · 295 km N of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 47 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 119,269 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1923M7.9

    Tokyo, Yokohama

    1 Sep 1923 · 237 km away

    105,385 deaths$600 million damagetsunami

  2. 1855M7.0

    Tokyo

    11 Nov 1855 · 185 km away

    6,757 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami

  3. 1703M8.2

    Off Sw Boso Peninsula

    30 Dec 1703 · 206 km away

    5,233 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami

  4. 1828

    Sandyo In Etigo

    18 Dec 1828 · 246 km away

    1,443 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami

  5. 1930M7.1

    Honshu: Idu

    25 Nov 1930 · 282 km away

    259 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)

  6. 1853

    Odawara

    11 Mar 1853 · 217 km away

    79 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers

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