Reviewed by USGS86y ago
M8.0 earthquake 1941 Hyuganada Earthquake
Tuesday, November 18, 1941, 16:46:32 UTC · 32.129°N, 131.944°E
A magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck 1941 Hyuganada Earthquake on Tuesday, November 18, 1941, 16:46:32 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.
- Magnitude
- 8.0
- Great · mw
- Depth
- 35 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VII
- Very strong (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
16 megatons of TNT
That is about 1,073 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 33,884 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
46 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Amur and Okinawa plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
35 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 400 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 400 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 50 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.958 km ESE of Takanabe, JapanNovember 2, 1931 · 29 km S of this epicenter
- 7.518 km SE of Honmachi, JapanNovember 10, 1909 · 116 km W of this epicenter
- 7.4152 km ESE of Koshima, JapanFebruary 1, 1916 · 291 km S of this epicenter
- 7.422 km N of Nishinoomote, JapanJuly 13, 1923 · 159 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.229 km ESE of Takanabe, JapanApril 13, 1913 · 18 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.161 km ESE of Nishinoomote, JapanAugust 24, 1904 · 188 km S of this epicenter
- 6.931 km SSW of Hikari, JapanJune 2, 1905 · 177 km N of this epicenter
- 6.931 km ESE of Miyazaki, JapanMay 21, 1929 · 36 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 19 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 20,155 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1792M6.4
Kyusyu Island
21 May 1792 · 171 km away
15,030 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1707M8.4
Nankaido
28 Oct 1707 · 293 km away
5,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1914M7.1
Sakurijima
12 Jan 1914 · 135 km away
63 deaths$19 million damagetsunami
- 1922
Kyushu
7 Dec 1922 · 167 km away
27 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1889M6.3
Kumamoto
28 Jul 1889 · 139 km away
20 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1905M7.8
Aki
2 Jun 1905 · 208 km away
11 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.