Reviewed by USGSJapan67y ago
M5.9 earthquake 146 km ESE of Yamada, Japan
Wednesday, March 23, 1960, 10:28:54 UTC · 39.137°N, 143.598°E
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 146 km ESE of Yamada, Japan on Wednesday, March 23, 1960, 10:28:54 UTC, at a depth of 25.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.4 on March 23, 1960.
- Magnitude
- 5.9
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 25 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
11 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 22 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
50 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
25 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 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.2 on March 23, 1960. 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 313 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 · 86 km E of this epicenter
- 8.0113 km ENE of Miyako, JapanMarch 20, 1960 · 87 km N of this epicenter
- 7.978 km E of Hachinohe, JapanMarch 9, 1931 · 190 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.8105 km E of Iwaki, JapanNovember 5, 1938 · 276 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.7277 km SSE of Kushiro, JapanMay 3, 1919 · 242 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.7116 km E of Namie, JapanNovember 6, 1938 · 225 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.7116 km ESE of Namie, JapanNovember 5, 1938 · 251 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.7217 km ESE of Kamaishi, JapanJuly 6, 1905 · 92 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 51 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 31,197 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1896M8.3
Sanriku
15 Jun 1896 · 53 km away
27,122 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1933M8.4
Sanriku
2 Mar 1933 · 86 km away
3,022 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1793M8.3
Sanriku,Rikuzen,Rikuchu
17 Feb 1793 · 79 km away
745 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1896
Senhoku, Ugo
31 Aug 1896 · 242 km away
206 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1905M7.0
Off Fukushima
6 Jul 1905 · 212 km away
57 deathstsunami
- 1856M8.0
Oshima
23 Aug 1856 · 152 km away · intensity V
26 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.