Reviewed by USGSJapan73y ago
M5.9 earthquake 146 km SE of Katsuura, Japan
Thursday, November 26, 1953, 04:21:41 UTC · 34.204°N, 141.440°E
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 146 km SE of Katsuura, Japan on Thursday, November 26, 1953, 04:21:41 UTC, at a depth of 30.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.2 on November 26, 1953.
- Magnitude
- 5.9
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 30 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
10 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/2 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 21 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
16 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Okhotsk and Philippine Sea 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 75 km
USGS lists 5 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.7 on November 26, 1953. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 6.2119 km SSE of Katsuura, Japan73y ago · 45 km W of this epicenter
- 6.0146 km SE of Katsuura, Japan73y ago · 8 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.0152 km ESE of Ōhara, Japan73y ago · 61 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.0149 km SE of Katsuura, Japan73y ago · 3 km E of this epicenter
- 6.7143 km SE of Katsuura, Japan73y ago · 6 km N of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 192 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 · 225 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.9174 km SE of Katsuura, JapanNovember 25, 1953 · 28 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.85 km E of Tateyama, JapanSeptember 2, 1923 · 163 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.769 km ESE of Kitaibaraki, JapanMay 23, 1938 · 259 km N of this epicenter
- 7.3190 km SE of Hasaki, JapanSeptember 7, 1906 · 118 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.264 km ENE of Hasaki, JapanJune 1, 1923 · 193 km N of this epicenter
- 7.238 km SSW of Shimoda, JapanOctober 24, 1905 · 239 km W of this epicenter
- 7.196 km ESE of Takahagi, JapanApril 11, 1943 · 234 km N 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 117,771 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1923M7.9
Tokyo, Yokohama
1 Sep 1923 · 204 km away
105,385 deaths$600 million damagetsunami
- 1855M7.0
Tokyo
11 Nov 1855 · 220 km away
6,757 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1703M8.2
Off Sw Boso Peninsula
30 Dec 1703 · 159 km away
5,233 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1930M7.1
Honshu: Idu
25 Nov 1930 · 240 km away
259 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1853
Odawara
11 Mar 1853 · 228 km away
79 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1894M7.5
Tokyo
20 Jun 1894 · 218 km away
24 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.