Reviewed by USGSJapan75y ago
M6.3 earthquake 151 km SSE of Nemuro, Japan
Wednesday, March 5, 1952, 15:54:14 UTC · 41.984°N, 145.948°E
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 151 km SSE of Nemuro, Japan on Wednesday, March 5, 1952, 15:54:14 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.4 on March 5, 1952.
- Magnitude
- 6.3
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 15 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: 100 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
44 kilotons of TNT
That is about 3 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 92 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
5 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Okhotsk and Pacific plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
15 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 lists 4 M2.5+ earthquakes within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.1 on March 14, 1952. 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 152 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.11952 Tokachi-Oki EarthquakeMarch 4, 1952 · 170 km W of this epicenter
- 7.7277 km SSE of Kushiro, JapanMay 3, 1919 · 150 km S of this epicenter
- 7.542 km SSW of Shikotan, RussiaSeptember 11, 1935 · 169 km N of this epicenter
- 7.3169 km ENE of Hachinohe, JapanJune 13, 1943 · 239 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.2134 km E of Shikotan, RussiaDecember 21, 1946 · 272 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2192 km ENE of Miyako, JapanOctober 18, 1935 · 251 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.1136 km ENE of Miyako, JapanOctober 12, 1935 · 295 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.1123 km SE of Honchō, JapanJuly 29, 1917 · 202 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 20 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 106 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1843M8.4
Hokkaido: Yezo, Kushiro, Nemuro
25 Apr 1843 · 5 km away
45 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1952M8.1
Hokkaido
4 Mar 1952 · 174 km away · intensity IX
33 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1856M8.0
Oshima
23 Aug 1856 · 263 km away · intensity V
26 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1894M7.9
Off Coast Of Honshu
22 Mar 1894 · 58 km away · intensity IX
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1938M6.1
E. Hokkaido Island, Japan
28 May 1938 · 224 km away
1 deathLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1763M7.4
Sanriku,Mutsu
29 Jan 1763 · 263 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.