Reviewed by USGSJapan region75y ago
M6.0 earthquake in Hokkaido, Japan region
Tuesday, March 11, 1952, 20:37:22 UTC · 41.763°N, 144.282°E
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck in Hokkaido, Japan region on Tuesday, March 11, 1952, 20:37:22 UTC, at a depth of 27.8 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.9 on March 9, 1952.
- Magnitude
- 6.0
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 28 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
14 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 30 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
81 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
28 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 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.7 on March 16, 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 192 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 · 285 km S of this epicenter
- 8.11952 Tokachi-Oki EarthquakeMarch 4, 1952 · 48 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.978 km E of Hachinohe, JapanMarch 9, 1931 · 203 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.7277 km SSE of Kushiro, JapanMay 3, 1919 · 167 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.5Near the east coast of Honshu, JapanAugust 9, 1901 · 210 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.542 km SSW of Shikotan, RussiaSeptember 11, 1935 · 266 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.379 km ENE of Miyako, JapanMay 27, 1928 · 243 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.3169 km ENE of Hachinohe, JapanJune 13, 1943 · 112 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 32 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 30,268 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1896M8.3
Sanriku
15 Jun 1896 · 253 km away
27,122 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1933M8.4
Sanriku
2 Mar 1933 · 285 km away
3,022 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1843M8.4
Hokkaido: Yezo, Kushiro, Nemuro
25 Apr 1843 · 145 km away
45 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1952M8.1
Hokkaido
4 Mar 1952 · 56 km away · intensity IX
33 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1856M8.0
Oshima
23 Aug 1856 · 155 km away · intensity V
26 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1901M8.2
Off Northeast Coast Honshu
9 Aug 1901 · 210 km away
18 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.