Reviewed by USGSJapan region82y ago
M7.2 earthquake in Volcano Islands, Japan region
Monday, February 26, 1945, 22:14:29 UTC · 25.699°N, 143.634°E
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck in Volcano Islands, Japan region on Monday, February 26, 1945, 22:14:29 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.5 on February 24, 1934.
- Magnitude
- 7.2
- Major · 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
951 kilotons of TNT
That is about 63 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,995 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
54 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Philippine Sea 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 200 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 28 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.5Volcano Islands, Japan regionFebruary 24, 1934 · 291 km S of this epicenter
- 6.8Volcano Islands, Japan regionMay 11, 1905 · 42 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.6Volcano Islands, Japan regionMay 17, 1939 · 290 km S of this epicenter
- 6.6Volcano Islands, Japan regionMarch 11, 1931 · 264 km S of this epicenter
- 6.6Bonin Islands, Japan regionJuly 12, 1913 · 144 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.4Bonin Islands, Japan regionMay 4, 1907 · 291 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.4Bonin Islands, Japan regionJune 9, 1910 · 288 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.4Volcano Islands, Japan regionJanuary 1, 1938 · 75 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 2 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1826
Bonin Islands [Chichijima Island]
Jan 1826 · 208 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1872
Bonin Islands [Chichijima Island]
1872 · 208 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.